The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of South Florida, Inc.,
(BSMC South Florida Chapter (BSMCSF)) announces its “Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club South Florida Scholarship” program for graduating high school seniors within the following counties: St Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach.
The philosophy of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club is:
- To promote the history of African American veterans
- To be a positive role model for youth in our community
- To support our veterans by visiting local veterans, their families, and supporting our fallen heroes
- To support charitable organizations in our community
- To uphold the traditions and standards of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club
- To promote motorcycle safety in our community
The National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club (NABSTMC) is comprised of five (5) Frontiers (Northeast, Southeast, Great Lakes, Central, and Western), which encompasses 35 states to include Hawaii with an international Chapter located in Germany. There are over 113 Chapters organizational wide.
The BSMCSF Scholarship Committee will select 6 recipients from the BSMCSF Chapter to receive two $500 scholarships, three (3) $1,000 scholarships and one (1) $1,500 scholarship award; and a total of five (5) winners (three (3) College/University and two (2) Vocational or Trade School winners will be sent to the Southeast (SE) Frontier to be considered for additional awards of up to $3,000. Winners from the SE Frontier will be forwarded to the National Scholarship committee for consideration for one final award of $5,000.
BSMCSF will invite the winners to a local BSMCSF meeting to present the awards or attend the High Schools’ award ceremony and present the awards. The funds will be presented to the student upon verification of enrollment.
Eligibility:
Qualified applicants must be a graduating high school senior from Martin County High School, South Fork High School, Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, Fort Pierce Central High School, Vero Beach High School, William T. Dwyer High School, Palm Beach Lakes High School, Glades Central High School, Pahokee Middle-Senior High School, Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy, South Intensive Transition, Inlet Grove High School or sponsored by a South Florida Buffalo Soldier. A GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or better is required and the applicant must have been accepted to a college/university or vocational/trade school to be eligible to receive the award. The scholarship will be awarded based on financial need, proposed use, and overall qualifications, with emphasis on the quality of the required essay.
Instructions for candidates:
Completed applications and required documents must be attached as MS Word documents or scanned in a PDF format, in ONE (1) PDF file. JPEG and GIF image formats will be rejected.
The following are required to complete your application: Applicant must be an eligible Graduating High School Senior/GED recipient during the 2022 Fall / 2023 Summer school year who will be attending post-secondary or vocational/trade school in 2023 with a minimum GPA of 2.0.
- Attach or scan the completed application only (page 3 through page 5); do not include the general information pages and instructions pages.
- Unofficial High School Transcript, Home School transcript, or GED Certificate.
- A 500-word essay on the topics described below
- Letter of recommendation on official letterhead from a teacher/guidance counselor/school administrator, and/or employer (for GED).
- Letter of recommendation on letterhead from a community service organization
- A letter of acceptance to an institution of higher learning
- Signed Release Form (enclosed)
- Parent’s signature if a student is under 18 years old
- Prepare a letter of introduction, who you are, your accomplishments to date, your family background, and the degree/certificate to which you are seeking. Provide a summary of how you plan to use the scholarship if selected. Also, incorporate, how this scholarship would benefit you in giving back to your community.
- Recent professional head-shot photo (In Good Taste)
- Provide Student’s name, the complete name and address of the school and/or financial aid office where the student will be attending school, and the student ID number. Checks to all local winners will be presented directly to the student upon verification of enrollment in an institution of higher learning
Essay Topics: Write a 500-word essay (typewritten) on one of the following topics: **Do not write about the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers & Troopers Motorcycle Club**
A. What impact did the Buffalo Soldiers make in war and/or peacetime? Why is it necessary to pass this legacy on to future generations?
B. Provide specific examples of how the Buffalo Soldiers facilitated the development of roadways, national parks, and mail service.
C. The Medal of Honor is presented to the recipient by the President of the United States in the name of Congress. Please provide a brief narrative regarding a Buffalo Soldier who received this honor and what can be learned from his/her life, efforts, and commitment to duty.
Submit Application:
Applications may be downloaded from http://www.bsmcsf.org/scholarships2. Under the tab scholarship, you will find the application and links to the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club South Florida chapter information.
Completed applications and required documents must be attached as MS Word documents or scanned in PDF format, in ONE (1) PDF file and emailed to [email protected] on or before the stated deadline of March 20, 2023. Subject line is your full name, City and State. Unofficial transcripts can be scanned in the PDF format. JPEG and GIF image formats will be rejected. Applications must be vetted and forwarded from the nearest local Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club chapter to the Frontier Chairperson.
If you have questions please contact Mr. Theo Harris, the Scholarship Committee Chair, via email at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you. Respectfully,
Theo "Kool Breez" Harris
Scholarship Committee Chair
[email protected]
or
[email protected]
