NEF Announces 2025 Berenice Douglas & Suzanne Williams (BD&SW) Memorial Scholarship

The Africa Education Initiative (NEF) is happy to announce the 2025 Berenice Douglas & Suzanne Williams (BD&SW) Memorial Scholarship in honor of a NEF Board member’s mother & sister who passed away from COVID-19 complications in 2020. This scholarship is for the 2025 academic year and supports financially disadvantaged undergraduate students who are on a path to creating a secure future for themselves and are working hard to realize their full potential.

The deadline for submitting a complete application is February 15, 2025. All applicants will be notified of scholarship results in early April 2025.

Since we cannot meet with each applicant in person, the application is designed to help us learn as much about you as possible – your family background, your interests and extracurricular activities, your goals and aspirations, etc. The more we know about you, the easier it will be to evaluate your application.

Scholarship funds must be applied directly to the achievement of educational goals. Recipients of the 2025 BD&SW scholarship will be required to: (1) provide confirmation from the academic institution of successful school fee payment for the upcoming school year (after scholarship funds are disbursed), and (2) provide proof of satisfactory grades during the previous school year.

Information required in the online application includes the following (Please complete in English). Please also note that some questions have changed from last year’s application.

1. Surname (Family Name) CAPITAL LETTERS PLS. (E.G., KWAME)

2. First Name & Other Names (e.g., Michael Abraham)

3. Gender (Male/Female)

4. Country (Nationality)

5. State/Province

6. Email

7. What’s App #

8. Have you received the BD & SW Scholarship in a previous year? (Yes/No)

9. Academic Institution attending in 2025

10. Which undergraduate program are you enrolled in (for example, Nursing, Civil Engineering, Medicine, etc.)

11. What are your life goals and professional goals once you complete your undergraduate education?

12. How do you spend your time when not doing schoolwork? Please include familial responsibilities, hobbies & interests, volunteer & work commitments, etc. - anything that occupies your time outside of school.

13. Describe your family background.

14. Explain why you have a compelling financial need for this scholarship.

Please submit the following documents. These items are critical for submission.

• Passport-style photo of yourself

• Proof of Enrollment

• Current Academic Transcript or Stamped Statement of Results (CGPA) from previous school year.

• Two reference letters that shed insights into your character and financial situation (for example, letters from a pastor, a previous employer, a volunteer organization, a teacher that knows you very well, etc.)

• Awards/Grants (if applicable)

For The 2025 application, click here