Employee Stories: Kenya Gray

“I attended Bennett College (a UNCF-member institution) as a first-generation college student. I loved everything about my time in undergrad. It was where the girl I was met the woman I became.

“While I was a student at Bennett I was awarded several scholarships that helped out my parents tremendously. They were all from UNCF. Over the course of my sophomore, junior and senior years, I was a recipient of the Janet Jackson/Rhythm Nations Scholarship, Reader’s Digest Scholarship and the Michael Jackson Scholarship. Those awards helped push me to the next level academically. It was tangible proof that if I worked hard, my effort would be rewarded.

“I graduated with a bachelors of arts degree in mass communication with highest honors in 1999 on a partial scholarship to The American University’s School of Communication to study public relations.

“Many years later I found myself completing my personal circle of life. I am now an employee of UNCF and manage two of the three scholarship programs I received as an undergrad—Janet Jackson/Rhythm Nations and Michael Jackson. It is a life-altering experience to be able to help students in the exact same manner that was afforded to me.

“I can honestly attest to the statement, ‘I am your dividend.’  I am also an employee who believes in the hopes and the dreams of our scholars. They were once mine.”

Kenya A. Gray
Senior Relationship Manager
UNCF Scholarships and Programs
Washington, DC