Makenzie Williams, a senior at Ouachita Parish High, is ranked first in her class out of 274 students. According to her mother, Keyonya, Williams just received more than $1 million in scholarship offers from 75 colleges.
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Additionally, Williams received a 27 on the ACT and was recently invited to the Ouachita 2025 Students Banquet as one of the top 20 scholars.
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Keyonya told KNOE, “We are so proud of her. She’s worked so hard for this moment, and to see it pay off is just a blessing.”
Williams hopes to attend Dillard University in New Orleans this fall. She had plenty of options, but the historically Black university seemed to be the most suitable.
“She knew she wanted to stay in Louisiana and attend an HBCU that would nurture her academically and culturally,” her mother said.
BET notes that Williams’ story is noteworthy in the larger framework of what it means to be a top Black student in the United States. A high school student in the United States receives around $7,822 in college scholarships on average. This figure includes scholarships from numerous sources, such as the federal government, states, institutions, and private individuals.
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Data from EducationData.org and the National Center for Education Statistics indicate that Black students are underrepresented among scholarship recipients. Black students earn only 11-12% of private scholarship monies, although they account for approximately 14% of the student population in the United States.
Scholarships for U.S. students average $7,822, however, Black students frequently need to apply for more scholarships than their white counterparts to receive the same amount of financing.
