Nekko

The Jean Brown Scholarship Fund was established in 1995 after the passing of Jean Brown, who was an Emergency Assistance Advocate at Brighton Center from 1985 until her death in 1995. She had a wonderful talent for reaching our young people and helping them see a future for themselves. This scholarship honors her memory by offering encouragement to youth through a scholarship for post-secondary education.

I first heard about Brighton Center through an after-school program called Youth Leadership Development (YLD). When I first started, it was a day camp in the summer. We would do volunteer work, go on field trips, or just meet up to do activities. Youth Leadership Development for me was guidance at a young age; a way to keep me occupied and on the right path. It also helped me realize how important it is to volunteer in my community.

One summer, my YLD group had the opportunity to be in a commercial for Brighton Center about saying no to drugs. The commercial talked about how drugs and alcohol inhibit and prevent kid’s from reaching their hopes and dreams. I remember saying in the commercial, “I want to be successful” and everything that I have done from that day on has helped myself become successful and portray an example of what successful is to me.

My dream is to get my masters in athletic training. This is where my biggest focus is and one thing that has helped me along the way is the Jean Brown Scholarship through Brighton Center. I applied for the Jean Brown Scholarship my senior year of high school. There were very few scholarships that were renewable and this was one of them that I could use every semester. This scholarship has given me the ability to afford school supplies that previously I couldn’t afford. I was able to get a laptop so I can complete my homework, I don’t have to worry about the price of my books because of this scholarship, and I can afford supplies for all of my classes.

I am currently an Exercise Science Major at Morehead State University and I graduate this coming May. I played four sports in high school and I was a student trainer. My passion for sports carried into college as well. I work with Morehead State’s football team bandaging wounds during games, making sure the players are hydrated, stretching the athletes, and I am first aid and CPR certified.

My biggest self-achievement to this day is being Morehead State University's first African American Homecoming Queen since 1962. It’s been a huge accomplishment for me because I never thought I would be homecoming queen of a college, let alone become the second African American homecoming queen at Morehead State.

Another self-achievement that I am proud of is being a student director at Morehead State. This is something that I will cherish throughout my college experience because it taught me how to manage my time and how to work hard. In this role, I overlooked three resident halls which was approximately 700 students. I kept up with keys, monitored the RA’s to make sure they were doing what they were supposed to do, and I had office hours people could come speak to me.

It amazes me the support that I have coming out of my hometown in Newport. I am most impressed with Brighton Center's support of the community and wanting to see the community to succeed. Brighton Center supports every walk of life and I think that is very important. I know now that I have a community that is standing right behind me and is going to help me whenever I need it.