2018 Scholarship Recipients
Omarri Beck
Omarri Beck is a native out of Los Angeles, California, and a recent graduate from Junipero Serra High School located in Gardena, California. Omarri founded his own club, Scholars of Success, to help students develop leadership, good study habits, and communication while actively serving the school community. During his time at Serra he was also involved in numerous activities such as Boys’ Varsity Basketball, L.I.F.E (Living In Faith Experience) Team, Boys’ Track & Field, while still being able to help others by serving the community. Lastly, Omarri graduated with a 3.6 GPA, and believes that without hard work nothing is possible.
Omarri Beck chose to go to Morehouse College because he believes the institution builds the brotherhood, and prepare their students on how to be successful by using the “Renaissance Men” characteristics of being well-read, well-spoken, well-traveled, and last but not least well-dressed.
Michael Allen
Michael Allen is a graduating Senior at Morehouse College. He was raised in Pasadena, CA and in May he will be receiving his degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Sales. Michael has worked a multitude of internships throughout his time at Morehouse where he has been able to find his niche in the industry of Sales. Michael enjoys traveling and has used his school to his advantage. During his time at Morehouse, he studied abroad in both Costa Rica and Johannesburg, SA. He has also traveled to over 4 different states as he attended numerous Sales competitions and career fairs. With his last year ahead of him, Michael plans to finish strong academically while continuing to travel and explore the world.
Kyrie Blackmon
Kyrie Blackman is a rising senior native of Los Angeles. He transferred to Morehouse after earning his Associates in Science degree in Administration of Justice at Cerritos College. After attending an HBCU tour Kyrie fell in love with Morehouse and made it an obligation to get accepted.
Since being at Morehouse Kyrie has been recognized as an outstanding student and received multiple recognitions. Along with being the recipient of this year’s award he also was placed on Morehouse Dean’s and Honor list for Fall 2017, awarded the UNCF Ahmonson Family Foundation Scholarship, Sigma Alpha Pi honor society candidate, and also chosen to study abroad in the US Virgin Islands this winter. He is now currently a member of the AUC Boxing club and Morehouse Sociological Association. Through his hard work and determination, he has overcome many obstacles and is a beacon of light for those who will come after him.
Mason Chipley
Mason Chipley, is a junior at Morehouse College from Inglewood, CA majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing.
He takes pride in excelling in academics as well as demonstrating leadership skills in the Morehouse and broader Atlanta communities.
On campus, he sits on the Executive Board for the Campus Alliance of Student Activities as the Live Events Coordinator. In this position, he is responsible for resourcing over $25,000 in funds for student events centered on cultivating a more connected, inclusive, and exciting campus.
Additionally, Mason worked with the Department of Residential Housing as a Resident Assistant in a freshman hall to ensure that Freshman transitioned well into school and served as a mentor to many of the residents.
This past spring, Mason had the honor of becoming a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Inc. He enjoys impacting this campus with my brothers through various service actives.
Kenneth Brown, II
Kenneth Brown, II is currently a freshman at Morehouse College after graduating from the prestigious Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA) at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles where he was a member of the award‐winning jazz band and wind ensembles, as well as a three‐year starter on the school’s varsity basketball team. Kenneth is currently First‐Chair and Principal Trumpet of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA) and was selected as a “Grammy Emerging Artist” in 2016 and 2017 by the Grammy Foundation. Diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2, Kenneth was accepted to several 4‐year institutions after graduating including the Berklee School of Music and Morehouse College. After visiting both campuses, he decided to join the elite Men of Morehouse and play with The House of Funk!!
Since 2010, Kenneth has played alongside some of the world’s best musicians and entertainers including MC Hammer, Mary Wilson, Keith David, Obba Babatundé, Donald Dean, Sr., Donn Bynum, Kenneth Crouch, Ryan Cross, Lyndon Rochelle, and members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He has performed at Staples Center, The Grammy Museum, LA Live’s Club Nokia (Novo by Microsoft), Mercedes‐Benz Stadium, LA Convention Center Auto Show Stage as well as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Wilshire Ebell Theater, and Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles.
In 2017 & 2018, Kenneth was selected to participate and has been featured in the Monk Institute/LAUSD’s Beyond The Bell All‐City Jazz Big Band. In 2018, he helped lead Hamilton’s Jazz Ensemble to be a finalist at the Monterey Next Generation Festival, and 1st place wins at Esperanza Aztec Jazz Festival and the Western States Jazz Festival playing lead and solo trumpet.
This past summer, Kenneth was featured in a commercial promoting the 50th Anniversary of the Special Olympics directed by 2017 Cannes Film Festival Young Director Award Nominee, Anderson Wright. You can view the commercial here: Special Olympics: “Earned It” or https://vimeo.com/168471847
Kenneth ’22, is a Music Performance major at Morehouse with aspirations of playing basketball for the Maroon Tigers.
You can find Kenneth’s full portfolio at www.KennethBrownMusic.com
Joshua Griffin
Joshua Griffin is a Sophomore Kinesiology Major from Rancho Cucamonga, CA who will be graduating as part of the Class of 2022.
Joshua attended Colony High school in Ontario, CA and grated in 2017. A transfer student from Cambridge College Southern California, his goal is to become an Athletic Trainer in the NFL and also work with children and young adults with special needs. He is currently an Athletic Trainer Intern for Morehouse College Athletic Department as of August 9, 2018.
Ishmael Howard
Ishmael Howard is a junior Biology major at Morehouse College. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California where he graduated from Verbum Dei, a college preparatory high school with a corporate work study emphasis. The corporate ethics training and real-world experience enabled him to build his skill set while working for Union Bank and for three years at Southern Edison where he supported the marketing team. His hobbies are photography, music and traveling. He especially enjoys photography because he expertly captures nature’s uniqueness often highlighted by models who bring to life fashion’s inspiring pieces. His love of photography helped him to secure an extracurricular student photography position at Morehouse where he memorializes important social events held on campus.
Recently, Ishmael was selected and accepted membership into the National Society of Leadership and Success Chapter at Morehouse College, offered to only 4% of Morehouse students. His dreams and aspirations are to become a neurosurgeon or to conduct consequential research in the field of neurology. Neuroscience is a field he has held an interest in since he was as a kid. He would be honored to study cancerous and abnormal cells in the brain that often spread resulting in tumors. He hopes to find what is the root cause of these cells that develop in the brain and grow. Ishmael would like to better understand them so he may help develop a cure. With the brain, there is so little we understand and so he finds it fascinating and its complexities only urge him to learn more.
GLAMAA selecting Ishmael for this scholarship is an honor and he intends to pay GLAMAA’s generosity forward by continuing to help the children around him in need through his community service work.
Jalen Shelton
Jalen Shelton, a graduate from the class of 2018 at McBride High School. Despite challenges he has faced at this point in his Iife, he considers himself a “True Overcomer.” He is a first-generation college student who says obstacles in his life have, at times, made him cry, smile and chuckle, even if it was in disbelief. In spite of it all, Jalen has stood on one of his favorite scripture that has encouraged him “to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.” He attributes much of his success to being raised in a God-fearing home, with a strong family support system, a great education obtained through Long Beach Unified School District and connecting himself with individuals who share similar goals and aspirations like himself.
Jalen looks toward his future with great anticipation and excitement for what is yet to come and is committed to making a difference within his community and society as a whole. He is thankful for the opportunity to attend such a renowned college such as Morehouse and acknowledges that it is a “Dream come true.” His main goal is to maximum his experience and utilize the resources that Morehouse has to offer, so that he can graduate, not only with a degree but with the mind to make an impact in lives of others, just as he was positively impacted. Jalen defines college as a new endeavor and a phase of life that is essential, in order for him to not only make a difference but be the difference, in the lives of other individuals! As he embarks upon this commitment to enhance himself academically, socially, physically and emotionally, he is ever so grateful to those that have invested in his aspirations to pursue what once was only a dream of going to college. He is confident that his pursuit will not be in vain but will be a testimony that he can share to inspire others to know "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."- Walt Disney