Dvontae Scott (MGP ’21) is a changemaker. He was recognized as such by his university, Delaware State University, and was selected as a Strada Scholar. Strada Scholars is a Strada HBCU Initiative where students are selected to participate in leadership development. Scholars receive scholarships, leadership development, internships, and graduate school and career readiness.
Dvontae’s leadership centers around helping his university become as diverse as possible. He has helped students from Detroit get interested in attending his HBCU. He also wants to connect people between the community and industry and has done some of that as a program manager intern at Bank of America.
“I want to be an ambassador or liaison for community volunteers at Bank of America,” he said.
This fall he will attend his second Strada Scholar conference in Atlanta, where he will meet other scholars, HBCU presidents, and other leaders. He has kept in touch with the scholars he met at the first conference.
“It was amazing to be able to interact and see their different experiences at different HBCUs,” he said. “We never really realize how unique our college experience really is.”
Being a Strada Scholar has changed his path. Dvontae switched his major from accounting to business management with a concentration in marketing.
His first leadership memory is in high school when his principal at the University of Detroit Jesuit asked him to round up other students to attend a Black Awareness Society for Education event. He told Dvontae that he was “a student they listen to.” Dvontae was able to encourage enough students to pack the auditorium.
From his time in Midnight Golf, Dvontae uses the networking and communication skills he learned through the program.
“I carry that with me and being prepared and writing thank you notes,” he said. “If you stay active with the program you get to see the importance of alumni and talk to students.”
MGP alumni Ricky Beasley (MGP ’22) and Malik Jenkins-King (MGP ’23) are also Strada Scholars.