FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Dr. Melvin C. Terrell (MCT) Educational Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the selection of Janella Benson and Jayla Moody Marshall as the recipients of the 2024 MCT Scholarship.

“We are honored to present this scholarship to such exemplary recipients who embody our foundation’s mission. The significant advances they will drive in higher education will serve as a testament to the enduring legacy of Dr. Melvin C. Terrell,” said foundation chair Dr. Martino Harmon.

The MCT Foundation was created to ensure underrepresented students gain access and achieve success in higher education and student affairs. The MCT Foundation provides spaces and avenues for current and future student affairs professionals to address higher education’s most pressing issues.

The MCT Foundation presents scholarships annually to matriculating graduate students in a master’s or doctoral program in Student Affairs or a Higher Education Administration related program to further the recipient’s academic pursuits.

“The MCT scholarship recipients are accomplished graduate students who will be future leaders in higher education. I am confident that the recipients will make an incredible mark on our student affairs profession,” said foundation namesake and foundation chair emeritus Dr. Melvin C. Terrell.

Janella Benson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research explores the transitional and navigational experiences of Black women at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) from early matriculation through the professoriate. She is especially interested in how transition programs aid in their positive racialized experiences. She uses critical theories that interrogate and highlight the ways that Black scholars experience joy and is affirmed on predominantly white campuses.

Jayla Moody Marshall is a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development with a concentration in Higher Education, Opportunity, Equity, and Justice at North Carolina State University. Broadly, Jayla’s scholarship empowers marginalized students' voices and narratives to foster more inclusive and equitable spaces in higher education. Her dissertation specifically investigates Black undergraduate women’s purpose and identity development at predominantly White institutions.

Students wanting to take advantage of this opportunity or other scholarship opportunities in the future should visit www.mctfoundation.org.