Today we’d like to introduce you to Quanisha Ford.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Quanisha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Wow! It seems like yesterday when I began planning for FORDward Foundation. In 2012, I graduated from high school with the hopes of having a smooth journey to college. I applied to several scholarships- got denied, took the ACT test-kept making the same score, and a month before moving into my dorm- my mom was laid off her job. It seemed like everything was going wrong, and I became frustrated and defeated, Suddenly, scholarships that I forgot I had applied to began coming in. Although I had a stressful journey with entering college, I knew something greater was on the other side. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the prestigious Tougaloo College in 2016 with 2 degrees in Education, recognized as an Outstanding Student Honoree of the Education Department, awarded several scholarships, was a member of honor societies, initiated into the Gamma Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and much more. Every lesson that I learned during my undergraduate studies prepared me to start FORDward Foundation. I wanted to help high school and college students with applying and researching scholarships, mentor scholars, and educate them about becoming a lifelong learner. I remembered researching scholarships on google, and the Burger King Foundation Scholarship popped up. I clicked on the link and began applying. Months later, I received a notification that I received the BK $1,000 scholarship. $1,000? A restaurant scholarship? Yes, you read it right! I had no idea that restaurants give away scholarships. I was determined to put my fears aside and reach my goals. In 2017, I officially launched FORDward Foundation and began moving student’s academics FORDward. My ultimate goal is to assist students to pay for college without being stress. I built this nonprofit from the ground without any finances and limited support, I planned, prayed, and persevered! I was elated to recognize my first FORDward Scholars in May 2017 and now I have a total of 17 FORDward Scholars.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course not! The road has been filled with many challenges and struggles along the way. After launching FORDward Foundation, I was working three jobs and obtaining my Master’s degree in Elementary Education. Working 16 hours plus a day, then coming home to work on FORDward Foundation, was overwhelming but a blessing. Self-care is vital to me; therefore, I had to listen to my body when it was time to rest. I wanted everything to be a certain way and go the way I PLANNED, but God reassured me quickly that everything WILL NOT go my way. I had to conduct a lot of research to learn more about nonprofit. Tired and all- I kept going! Our name grew with great reviews and more students began to reach out to us about applying to scholarships. FORDward Foundation began speaking at different schools, hosting scholarship workshops tours where we sold out our 2nd workshop in Greenville, Mississippi. In addition, we hosted entrepreneur events for the youth, featured in Delta Democrat Times newspaper, and recently, we participated in Lee High School HBCU College and Career Fair.
FORDward Foundation – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The mission of FORDward Foundation is to educate, empowered, and equipped high school and college students with the opportunity of furthering their education. We have three initiatives, such as scholarship, mentorship, and Education. For our scholarship initiative, we assist students with applying and researching scholarships, provide scholarship workshops, help build student’s resumes, and educate students about our scholarship requirements. We provide scholarships to graduating high school seniors at Greenville High School in Greenville, MS, college students at Tougaloo College who major in Education, and graduating high school seniors in Huntsville, AL, who is enrolled in the TRiO- Upward Bound Program. Although our scholarships are limited to only these schools, we have helped 100+ students find scholarships, including students in the Atlanta area. With our mentoring program, we ensure scholars are equipped to have positive role models. We host self-care events, allow FORDward Scholars to mentor students, and always conduct team building activities. Lastly, FORDward Foundation believes in giving back to our community faithfully through our education initiative. Also, we provide ACT prep resources, Praxis resources, and resume building services. In 2019, we hosted our 1st Youth Entrepreneur event where young entrepreneurs ages 4-17 showcase their boss skills. They were able to sell their own products, provide business cards, and some created their own logo. It was a major success!!!
We are known for serving our community and networking with different schools around the state to help students become successful. I build relationships with my FORDward Scholars, and I am most proud of our growth. We are officially 501(c)3! Each time we have a student or an adult to reach out to us, we are thrilled to provide them with the best experience. We have read reviews and stories about how FORDward Foundation has helped students throughout their educational journey. Recently, we were awarded “Making a Great Impact in the Community” Greenville Girls Rock Award, and we launched our Scholarship Apparel line. We are proud of community leaders and businesses who support this foundation too. The thing that sets us apart from others is offering scholarships to a variety of students and not having the ACT test as a scholarship requirement. We do encourage students to take the ACT test and strive high, but we do understand that students have test anxiety like myself. Therefore, I want students to be confident in applying to scholarships. Another thing that sets us apart from others is offering scholarship writing workshops. During our scholarship writing workshops, we help students learn how to write winning scholarship essays and teach them how to edit their essay. Our goal is to reach every student one goal at a time!!!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Growing up, I LOVED to save everything-money, letters, shoes, jewelry.. you name it. Everything had to be organized, and my clothes had to be sorted according to color. I remembered my oldest sister moved her things inside my room because she knew I would stay organized (lol). She did not want our mother to fuss at her, so she figured moving in with the little sister would be beneficial. I was always involved in something such as being a cheerleader since kindergarten until college, I was on the Homecoming Court for six years and won Homecoming Queen, a member of the Student Government Association, and had leadership abilities. Even when things got tough, I persevered. I love to laugh, uplift others, and serve my community. By the way, I was the girl who LOVED to sing but did not know any lyrics. Lastly, growing up, I always dream big, set realistic goals, and stayed focused. Everything I’ve learned as a kid has never left my side, such as “If you fail, get back up and try again.”
Pricing:
- FORDward Foundation Scholarship Apparel starting at $15.00
Contact Info:
- Email: fordwardfoundation@gmail.com
- Instagram: fordwardfoundation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MovingAcademicsFORDward/?ref=bookmarks
Image Credit:
Eric Pilcher
Lance Piri
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