Dr. Jacqueline Lawton presents Cayla Withers with the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Arizona Cleaver Stemons Centennial Scholarship and ZNEF members Karen Gibson and LaTisha Perry take photos.
ZNEF Awards LARGEST Scholarship in Zeta History $100,000 Centennial Arizona Cleaver-Stemons Founders’ Scholarship
By Dr. Shirley Chevalier Zeta National Educational Foundation Member The Zeta National Educational Foundation (ZNEF) is proud to introduce Ms. Cayla D. Withers, the first recipient of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Arizona Cleaver-Stemons Centennial Scholarship for up to $100,000 toward her college education. On June 19, 2020, with horns blaring, headlights flashing, and blue and white balloons flapping in the breeze, a motorcade of officers, sorority members, and members of its Amicae auxiliary traveled to Cayla’s home in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Under the guise of the local news station, WSOC-TV, interviewing the local student on the subject of “remaining dedicated to education in the throes of a pandemic,” International President of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Valerie Hollingsworth Baker
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spoke with Cayla via cellphone to surprise her by congratulating her on receiving the Zeta Arizona CleaverStemons Scholarship. JacQueline Lawton, President of the ZNEF Board of Managers, and Latisha Perry, Zeta North Carolina State Director, then presented her with a symbolic BIG check in the amount of $100,000! Cayla is a 2020 graduate of A. L. Brown High School of Kannapolis, North Carolina. In addition to being involved in numerous community activities, Cayla excelled in Advanced Placement (AP) and STEM-related coursework, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She was the president and founder of the local junior chapter of the National Black Engineers at her school. Cayla is the complete package: outstanding student, personable individual, community conscious, goal-oriented. Cayla enrolled at Stanford University in the Fall 2020 school year pursuing a bachelor’s degree in aerospace, aeronautical, astronautical, and space engineering. Cayla’s life goal is to achieve a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). “While we received over 2,000 applications from very high-achieving graduating seniors, Cayla’s story was special. We were inspired by her strength, bravery, and commitment to excellence, even when faced with adversity. That is what Zeta stands for
THE ARCHON MAGAZINE • SPRING & SUMMER 2021 REMEMBERING CENTENNIAL 100 (1920 – 2020)
