DuBois 'role model' wins scholarship

Those familiar with College sophomore Jamarah Leverette say she fully embodies the spirit of African Americans at Penn, making her a fitting choice to be the first recipient of the W.E.B. DuBois Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship, established to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the DuBois College House, is the product of a year-long fundraising effort by DuBois officials. Presented on October 7, it is the first scholarship associated with one of Penn's 12 college houses. While ultimately the house plans to present two awards each year, the program is still in its fundraising stage. Besides, according to DuBois House Dean Sonia Elliot, the choice to award this year's scholarship solely to Leverette was a no-brainer. "There was not another person who came to mind," said Elliot, who chose this year's scholarship recipient with Faculty Master Howard Stevenson. The two looked for a student who "represent[s] the qualities that make DuBois House unique and vital at Penn," Elliot said. Leverette was therefore the ideal choice since she performs community service and has taken a leadership role within the house. Leverette works with Stevenson and other students on Preventing Long-term Anger and Aggression in Youth, a group that visits E. S. Miller, a disciplinary school in West Philadelphia, and encourages students there to develop self-control. PLAY teaches the students basketball, martial arts and cultural pride reinforcement, which Leverette considers to be the most important aspect of the program. "We talk to them about manhood, we talk to them about things that are going on in their neighborhood, we talk to them about 'what does black culture mean [and] how do you fit into that?'" Leverette said. In addition to her involvement with PLAY, Leverette is on the board of UMOJA, the umbrella organization for African-American groups on campus. "It's a group that's supposed to bring all the black organizations together under a banner of unity, to promote political awareness, to empower ourselves and to be effective in getting black people to work together on this campus," she said. Leverette is pursuing a double major in International Relations and African Studies. While she is not sure what she would like to do after graduation, her chosen career will certainly focus on helping the African American community. "Anything I do is going to be centered around uplifting my people, black people, and to obtain our freedom," Leverette said. "There's a lot of things that we need to be doing as a people to achieve our goals of liberation, things that deal with economics, education [and] politics." Leverette said no one had expressly told her why she was chosen for the scholarship, but that she felt "they wanted somebody who represents what it is to be a black person on this campus." Still, as Elliot points out, it's more than that. As a DuBois Endowed Scholar, Leverette will serve as a role model to younger residents of Dubois and will help run the house's Paul Robeson Research Center and Library. While the scholarship fund is currently at $80,000, Joanne Hanna, director of development for undergraduate financial aid, said she is confident that, thanks to an anonymous donor who gives 50 cents for every dollar donated by other sources, the fund will reach its target level of $400,000 relatively soon. Once DuBois fundraisers reach this goal, the scholarship fund will benefit more members of the African-American community. "Economically, we need to be able to support each other more as a people," Leverette said. "I hope in the future it will be able to be a full scholarship and help more black students to be able to attend here, without as much financial worry."