Two Chattanooga Girls Inc. girls were awarded prestigious college scholarships from the national Girls Inc. Markesha Dunham, a rising college freshman who graduated this month from the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences and Kermisha Tate, a rising senior at the Boyd-Buchanan School, were each awarded scholarships for $2,500.
Kermisha Tate and Markesha Dunham
Markesha Dunham, recipient of the Lucille Miller Wright Scholarship, was only one of five national scholars selected to speak at a business luncheon in New York City where the awards were given.
Dunham will attend Berea College in Berea, Kentucky this fall. She plans to major in women’s studies and ultimately hopes to become a doctor. She has been actively involved with Girls Inc. programming since seventh grade and is currently volunteering with the organization.
“I feel that it is my calling to have a career that helps women in some way, and since I am interested in medicine, and an OB/GYN is a nice marriage of the two,” Dunham said.
Kermisha Tate was awarded a Verizon Scholarship Grant. In addition to serving as a co-president at Boyd-Buchanan, Tate has served on the Leadership Team and the Infant Mortality Public Awareness Campaign for Tennessee (I.M.P.A.C.T.). While working on I.M.P.A.C.T., Tate was exposed to the field of graphic design and communications. Tate hopes to attend Georgia Tech to get a degree in computer science and minor in graphic design.
“Once I graduate, I want to go back to school to get a Masters of Business Administration because my ultimate goal is to have my own graphic design company.” Tate said.
In their scholarship essays, both girls wrote that Girls Inc. has helped them understand their right to be themselves and resist gender stereotypes.
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