Kimberly Maitland, a rising senior, has been chosen to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Executive Leadership Council (ELC).
The objective of ELC is to enhance the number of successful Black executives both domestically and globally. Its scholarship program provides students with opportunities and prepares the next generation of leaders.
“I feel extremely honored and grateful to be selected for this opportunity,” Maitland said. “Winning this scholarship as well as entering the Executive Leadership Council Scholars’ cohort will provide me with a wealth of knowledge and experience, especially when I meet like-minded peers at the Honor Symposium in D.C. Additionally, The funding will further lower my financial barriers to education and limit extra loans I have to take up for school.”
Maitland was awarded the Award for Excellence in Business Commentary Scholarship, a national honor for outstanding Black students. The cash will help with educational expenses for the upcoming school year.
She thanks Dungy Writing Studio Director Laura Farmer for her help with this process and says her Cornell seminars inspired the content she presented in the lengthy application.
“My professors Santhi Hejeebu, Genevieve Migely, and Todd Knoop taught me classes in economics and business ethics,” Maitland said. “The concepts I learned in their classes had a profound impact on shaping my understanding of business and economics, income inequality, and corporate social responsibility. Exploring these topics in their classes played a vital role in informing my thought process while crafting the essays for this scholarship. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to learn from their expertise.”
Maitland is a creative writing and diversity management double major in English, which is a personalized major based on the people management major and classes that emphasize the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
She says she wants to encourage other Cornell students to apply for scholarships like this one, which will help them succeed after graduation.
“Several different nonprofit organizations (including ELC) can help students to fund their education,” Maitland said. “These organizations are committed to helping students focus on being truly immersed in their studies, so they don’t have to worry about whether the cost of learning will impede their success.”
