Our Scholars - Juanita James Memorial Scholarship Foundation

1998-2001 | 2002-2005 | 2006-2009 | 2010 | Current Year Winners | Full List

Kanika Brooks was born and raised in the South Bronx, USA. She moved with her mother to The J.P. Mitchel Housing Projects at the age of four. In 1994, Kanika entered the engineering program at A. Philip Randolph High School. By senior year, in addition to classes, after school activities, and a part time job, a common routine for Kanika was a stop to the school's college office. While searching through the crates of scholarship applications and college program materials, Kanika came across an application for the Juanita James Memorial Scholarship Foundation. She applied, interviewed, and was awarded the scholarship in June of 1998. In September, Kanika began her studies at Columbia University in New York. In 1999, she was a part of Dr. Jordan's New York Times article, "A Babysitter in the Bronx". In 2002, Kanika graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in math and statistics. She began her professional career teaching middle school math at Newark Academy in New Jersey. Staying true to her love of mathematics, Kanika worked as a financial planner at Ernst and Young and is currently a pension consultant at Madison Pension Services in Westchester, NY.

Lisa Briggins Tate, '99
Mott Haven Houses

Raised by a strong single mother and an older brother, Lisa was determined to make her mother proud. Growing up in the projects of the South Bronx was rough, but it was a strong motivating factor for her to pursue her dreams of becoming educated and making a difference in her lifetime. Lisa and her family moved to the Mott Haven Housing Projects at the start of her high school career at Herbert H. Lehman High School (1995-1999). She was in the honors program and graduated in the top 2% of her class, ranking number 7 in her entire graduating class. It was during the college application and scholarship search process that she was introduced to the Juanita James Memorial Scholarship Foundation by her guidance counselor. Lisa became the 1999 recipient of the scholarship and entered into a wonderful family of recipients. Lisa decided to attend Cornell University's College of Human Ecology where she earned a Bachelor's of Science in Human Biology Health and Society. During the course of her undergraduate career, public health became of great interest as a profession. So she decided to attend graduate school at the University at Albany School of Public Health. In 2005 not only did she earn a Master's Degree in Public Health, she also moved to Jacksonville, Fl and married her fiance in July becoming Lisa Briggins Tate. In March of 2006 she gave birth to a daughter Zoe K. Tate. She taught for one year from 2006 to 2007 and is currently working in health & welfare in the financial industry. Although family and motherhood have been her primary focus since school, she still plans to pursue a career in the public health field...the field she is most passionate about.

Xi'an Glynn, '00
Boston Secor Houses

Xi'an Glynn was born and raised in the North East Bronx. Fascinated by the books her mother brought home, she planned to be a doctor. In 1996, she enrolled in Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics but while in school, her plans for the medical field changed as her love of artistic expression grew. It was her love of the performing arts that made her excel both inside and outside of the classroom. In 2000, Xi'an was one of two recipients that were awarded the Juanita James Memorial Scholarship which helped during her undergraduate studies at SUNY Potsdam. Since her graduation from college, she has interned for Atlantic Records, Wendy Williams from The Wendy Williams Experience with 107.5 WBLS FM, BRONXNET and Street Hype Newspaper. Currently, Xi'an is an employee for Clarendon Entertainment, a New York City based film company that produces, buys and distributes African American oriented short films, features and documentaries. Xi'an is also simultaneously finishing graduate work at her alma mater as a graduate fellowship recipient.

Miguel Rosario, '01
Andrew Jackson Houses

Miguel Angel Rosario was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, but was raised in Andrew Jackson Houses and Melrose Houses in the Bronx. He double majored in college and graduated from the University at Buffalo in 2006 with honors, obtaining his bachelor's in Architecture and Business Administration in five years. Miguel is now practicing and working as an architect, a career that he pursues with great fervor. He also has a passion for writing poetry and published his first book of poems entitled My Life, Your Thoughts, Our Emotions, on December 18th, 2009.