Alumni Accolades June 2015

Christopher Gray (2010), founder of scholarship search engine app Scholly, was honored as Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year. The state of Montana has announced that it will be buying Scholly for every rising senior in the state each year!

Ayyan Zubair (2015) is running a youth Iftar (breaking of the fast) for members of all faiths in his hometown of East Meadow, NY.

Image: St. Louis Business Journal, Dilip Vishwanat

Julia Li (2006) was recently featured in the St. Louis Business Journal. The article detailed her abrupt career change following her diagnosis of a pituitary adenoma, a benign brain tumor that causes hormonal imbalances. Julia moved back to her hometown of St. Louis to help her parents with the family business, LuLu Seafood, and has had great success. Passionate about building communities, she established Create Space, a community-oriented artisan space for 30 plus different businesses. When asked who she goes to for business advice, Julia was quoted in the article, “I turn to the many mentors I made in New York, through the Kauffman Foundation where I did a free entrepreneurship program called FastTrac that taught the basics of running a business. I’m also mentored by those I met with the Coca-Cola (Scholars) Foundation, when I was named a national Coca-Cola Scholar in high school for giving back to the community.”

Cindy Rajkumar (2015) has been invited to be an innovative speaker and motivational presenter for TEDx’s “Ideas Worth Spreading” show and leadership conference.

2015 Scholars Akintobi “Irvin” Akinseye and Zaria Noble have been named Ron Brown Scholars.