Scholarship Recipient Update: Aleisha Sawyer

We first introduced Aleisha P. Sawyer in April 2021 as a college freshman and our newest scholarship recipient. We are proud to share this update highlighting her growth and success as she continues her college career.

Aleisha is a second-year honors student from Atlanta, GA. She attends Spelman College as an economics major and math minor with a desire to pursue a Ph.D. in economics. This past summer, she interned in the Becker Friedman Institute of Economics at the University of Chicago. She also interned with the Sloan Foundation with Spelman College and Stanford University. Additionally, she had the opportunity to serve as a teacher assistant for a local STEM academy for middle and high school students. She also served as a merit badge counselor assistant for her church’s Boy Scout Troop. She assisted along with hikes, camping trips, and merit badges classes. At Spelman, Aleisha has continued to serve her community as a Bonner Scholar. Her current service site includes being a Change Agent at the Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute. She serves on a team with undergraduate and graduates college students in a research project about the impeding capital issues facing Black women entrepreneurs.

She is passionate about serving her community and continuing a program she founded in high school. The project, entitled Beyond the Classroom, is helping low-income and underrepresented students find opportunities to improve their academic performance in school and exposure to different careers. Her favorite inspirational quote is by Maya Angelo, and it says, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Her hobbies include dancing, volunteering at local elementary schools, reading, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.