BHMS – Why We Can’t Wait Scholarship

HISTORY: The Bragg-Harvard-MuhammadSmith (BHMS)– Why We Can’t Wait Fund Scholarship Fund was established in 2009 by Professor Mursalata Muhammad, a GRCC English Department faculty member, and Wil Smith, her husband, a Kent County Deputy Sheriff. They started the scholarship in memory of the following family members, who contributed to public service by how they lived their lives or in their careers:
• Chet Bragg, brother-in-law, veteran and law enforcement officer
• Claude Harvard: grandfather, veteran, inventor and public servant
• Mutasha Muhammad: mother and humanitarian

BHMS Scholarship Goals
• Current goal: Provide $3000 in partial scholarships annually
• Long-term goal: Provide one full-tuition GRCC police academy scholarship annually

BHMS Purpose Statement
The Bragg, Harvard, Muhammad-Smith Why We Can’t Wait Scholarship seeks to positively impact public service in a variety of communities by supporting civic engagement, educational attainment, philanthropy in the seven following ways:
• Encourage people to develop cultural competency skills that increase their understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Encourage people to be active citizens in the communities they serve through their work
• Provide financial support to people pursuing degrees and public service careers in law enforcement/criminal justice, education, and healthcare
• Encourage people to think creatively about how their area of study may result in a public service career
• Support degree completion by establishing these funds as a renewable scholarship
• Support educational ownership and financial planning by allowing recipients to decide how to disburse funds
• Encourage scholarship recipients to support education scholarships in the future

To be considered please read carefully

  • No late applications accepted
  • One Short Response
  • One Personal Statement
  • One Reference Letter
  • One multimedia

Award
varies
Deadline
Supplemental Questions
  1. Are you currently enrolled in the Police Academy at GRCC with a goal to obtain a career in Law Enforcement?
  2. GRCC Police Academy Acceptance Letter
  3. Applicants NOT enrolled in the GRCC Police Academy
    • I am enrolled in a GRCC 2-year degree, pathway or other program
    • I have completed at least 12 credit hours at Grand Rapids Community College
    • I plan to work in a public service career related to criminal justice, education or healthcare
  4. What is your anticipated semester of graduation?
  5. Tell the scholarship committee how your educational plans connect to your plans for a career in public service.
  6. Personal Statement: Write a personal statement that shares your understanding of equity, inclusion, and cultural awareness as these ideas apply to your personal experiences, educational choices, and plans to work in a specific public service career – e.g. law enforcement/criminal justice, education, healthcare, other.
  7. Enter the name and email address of the person you choose to provide a letter of reference.
  8. Being as creative as possible, respond in some way other than plain text/paragraphs (e.g., multimedia, video, recordings, slideshow, etc.) to the following prompt: Imagine you could share your personal statement with an audience that included both the most important people in your life AND the people living in the community, where you will begin working.
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