PIERRE TOUSSAINT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

WINTER 2019–2020

SCHOLARS IN SERVICE

WHEN DANIELLE BECKFORD WAS AWARDED A PIERRE TOUSSAINT SCHOLARSHIP IN 2004, she was one of two recipients that year. “It was a small program at the time,” she recalls. “Now there are more than 75 participating scholars at various levels.”

Since 1983, the Toussaint scholarships have been awarded to graduating seniors from high schools in the archdiocese. The program, which is administered by the Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, goes far beyond the financial grants, providing mentorship, advisement and a dynamic array of opportunities for growth in both faith and career for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Now a successful talent agent in New York, Beckford still participates fully in the Pierre Toussaint community. Her commitment to the organization, and to the success of its younger scholars, speaks volumes about the program. “Pierre Toussaint alumni are really out there,” she says. “I continue to be part of the staff for the annual fundraising dinner and other events – the retreats, the yearly Day of Service, the overseas trips. Once a scholar, always a scholar.” 

Danica Brown became a Pierre Toussaint scholar in 2010. She was in the program through four years at George Washington University, then law school at Howard University. Now a third-year litigation associate at Fried, Frank in New York City, she, like Beckford, participates in the Pierre Toussaint Dinner every year, and still considers herself a part of the Toussaint community. “I continue to serve as a mentor for any scholar who is interested or in need,” she says. “When I go back to meet with the scholars during the retreats, I tend to form a natural connection with the current students.” It’s the community that both former scholars cite as the program’s biggest benefit.
 

FROM LEFT: Program alum Danica Brown, now a litigation attorney in New York, serves as a mentor for younger scholars; scholar Junelle Addei is preparing for a career in social work.

Current scholar Junelle Addei agrees. “Pierre Toussaint is a really great support system,” she says. “It’s a whole program based on being young and being Catholic, going through your college journey and keeping your faith. It helps you through your challenges, your struggles. It gives you the support of Leah Dixon and Brother Tyrone Davis from the Office of Black Ministry, and the support of your fellow scholars and alumni.”

Through weekend retreats and one day workshops, the program brings the scholars, from freshmen to third year graduate students, together for networking, service projects and presentations in career, personal and faith development. Brown remembers the life-altering impact of service work at food pantries around the archdiocese, where she helped in administration and distribution in connection with her Toussaint scholarship. “It’s a humbling experience, because you see people at their lowest, struggling to feed their families, and then you meet the volunteers who do the work compassionately every week. When I think about my own pro bono work – that’s the foundation of my heart.”

As she prepares to embark on her career in social work, Addei also points to the formative impact of the Toussaint experience. “Being part of Pierre Toussaint and learning more about my Catholic faith has allowed me to be more aware of the struggles people face in society, and that we need to support and uplift each other. Right now, in college, it’s about doing service opportunities and building my career. I feel like after college – especially as a social work major – I’ll be able to dig deeper into the fact that everyone is valuable, everyone is seen as a child of God.”

For more information about the Pierre Toussaint Scholarship Fund, visit obmny.org/pierre-toussaint-scholars or contact Leah Dixon in the Black Ministry office at 646-794-2681; email obm@archny.org.