BUFFALO, N.Y. — Five Buffalo high school students were awarded the Romeo Doyle Muhammad Scholarship.
Dr. Eva Doyle has been hosting the scholarship since 2009. She is a retired 30-year Buffalo public school teacher and uses the scholarship to honor local students and her late husband Romeo Doyle Muhammad who was a Korean War veteran and an advocate for education.
“I've been doing this scholarship for 15 years. And it has not always been easy, because sometimes I don't always get a lot of donations,” she said. “But I keep doing it because I think it's important to keep my husband's memory alive.”
The winners include:
Naia Marrow - Performing Arts
Melia Towns - Lockport High
Zigabor Banuna - Hutch Tech
Marie Furaha - Burgard High
Dominique Grandy
Students say the scholarship helps them to achieve their goals.
“My dream job and future career is to be a video game designer working at Nintendo or to be a Buffalo news reporter," added Banuna.
“It's my family's dream too, because I'll be the first female to graduate from high school in my family," said Furaha.
Scholarships are given to students of color who completed high school and will attend a two- or four-year college or university. Students who apply show academic achievement, submit references, and write an essay describing their future goals.
“That's what it's all about, just to encourage our young people, no matter their backgrounds, to do well and to be successful,” said Dr. Doyle. “That's really the whole goal,”
The scholarship is presented every July which is the birth month of Romeo Doyle Muhammad.