- February 26, 2025
The Molly Ford Scholarship Supports First-Generation Students
Established in 2023, as a result of a generous gift from Molly and William Ford through their Screaming Comet Foundation, the Molly Ford Scholarship Fund provides the opportunity for first-generation students to graduate debt-free with a university degree.
Ford scholars represent the top of their class, demonstrate financial need, and come from varied backgrounds. To date, nine students have earned this opportunity.
The Ford scholarship covers tuition, fees, books and housing expenses, as well as academic and programmatic wrap-around services to help navigate academics and life on campus.
As part of their support, the Fords meet their scholars and encourage them to take advantage of every opportunity they experience in their lives. To that end, Ford scholarship funds may also support experiential learning, including internships and study abroad opportunities.
“College was never in my plans due to cost,” scholar Gilberto A. Barahona Hernandez said. “The scholarship definitely changed my life.”
Originally from El Salvador, Gilberto grew up in Lake Worth, where his father also attended high school. He was always interested in engineering but considered college out of reach. He became aware of Florida Atlantic’s scholarship opportunities when a Florida Atlantic scholarship recipient presented at his high school. Now, as a scholar and civil engineering major, Gilberto (right) is motivated to give back by acting as a mentor to another Ford Scholar, Honan Hernandez (left).
For Thien Doan, the Ford scholarship enabled him to pursue his professional goal of studying health administration and non-profit management at Florida Atlantic.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for the scholarship, I would have probably stopped at an associate’s degree,” Thien said.
He would like to eventually help open health clinics in underserved rural areas. Thien is now getting hands-on experience in a non-profit setting, volunteering at Boca Helping Hands, a community organization that provides food, job training, access to health care, and financial assistance in Palm Beach County.
Scholar Jennifer Okoro also appreciates the academic and career development opportunities available as she aspires to attend medical school.
She was born in Nigeria and raised in Miami. When she visited the hospital where she was born, she observed the disparity in resources compared to healthcare facilities in the United States. Jennifer would like to specialize in pediatrics and also work on improving global health care systems. Recently, she worked with Breakthrough Miami, teaching science to seventh graders. She plans to do an internship in a clinical setting in the coming year.
“The sky will not be my limit,” Jennifer said. “This scholarship is helping me to go beyond that to the stars.”
To learn more about how Florida Atlantic is providing scholarships that propel student success, as well as how Transcend Tomorrow: The Campaign for Florida Atlantic University is working to train more health care workers and create a healthier environment, visit transcendtomorrow.fau.edu.
Make a gift today.
Together, we can Transcend Tomorrow.
