AMYCA WILSON, RAVEN BIVINS, MIRACLE KELLY AND NYA O’NEAL, SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS THANKS TO NEW ORGANIZATION MCKEESPORT HBCU VISION, FOUNDED BY DENISE SINKLER, PICTURED AT BACK LEFT.
Just like the Mighty Marching Panthers at Clark Atlanta University, alumna Denise Sinkler has stepped on the field with her new organization, “McKeesport HBCU VISION,” and everyone’s taking notice.
Born and rasied in McKeesport, Sinkler said the moment she stepped onto Clark Atlanta University’s campus, it “changed my life.”
Historically Black Colleges and Universities are not talked about enough in the Pittsburgh region, Sinkler told the New Pittsburgh Courier, so her new organization came onto the field; not with drums and dance moves, but with checks.
NYA O’NEAL, RIGHT, WITH HER MOTHER, REV. AISHA TATE.
Five Black students, primarily McKeesport Area High School graduates, received book scholarships of $600 each in August 2024. They were: Kalea Armstrong (Morgan State University); Grace Walker (North Carolina A&T); Safiyah Allen-Crane (Clark Atlanta University); Raven Bivins (Jackson State University); and Miracle Kelly (Coppin State University).
And then on Dec. 28, 2024, Sinkler’s new organization gave out two more $600 book scholarships, to Amyca Wilson (Central State University) and Nya O’Neal (Howard University).
RAVEN BIVINS, RIGHT, WITH DENISE SINKLER.
Also at the event, Bivins won the McKeesport HBCU VISION award for community service and excellence in academics. The first Black nurse hired within the McKeesport Area School District, Joanne Rodgers, was also honored. She was hired by the school district in 1971.
Sinkler said that a Go Fund Me page she set up over the summer of 2024 netted $3,000 for the first five book scholarships. She was blown away by the community support.
“The second I stepped on campus, I was embraced, I was supported, I was able to see Black excellence on so many levels, and I just didn’t get that in Pittsburgh,” Sinkler told the Courier, Jan. 13.
Sinkler will continue to award McKeesport-area high school graduates who want to further their education at an HBCU.
“Parents, find out more about HBCUS through any type of networking organization that you can here in Pittsburgh,” Sinkler said.
Sinkler added:
“HBCUs are worth the effort.”
ALINA BIVINS BROWN (MOTHER OF RAVEN BIVINS), NURSE JOANNE RODGERS, CHET THOMPSON, AND AWARDEE NYA O’NEAL.
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