NEW YORK, NY, April 12, 2018— L’Oréal USA recently hosted 13 high school and 26 college students at its Hudson Yards headquarters for the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women’s Annual Role Model Program, designed to provide students with a realistic understanding of various professions, to learn practical workplace skills and to allow them to shadow professional women in their chosen careers.

“Each year, L'Oréal USA’s collaboration with New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women’s Role Model Program presents the opportunity to demonstrate and reaffirm our commitment to supporting programs that energize and encourage women and girls,” said Cecilia Nelson-Hurt, L’Oréal’s Assistant Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion. “In addition to presenting personal and professional growth experiences, L’Oréal USA is proud to have awarded scholarships each year to Role Model Program students for the past 19 years.”

L'Oréal USA’s initial grant to the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women in 1999 enabled the expansion of the Role Model Program to Brooklyn and Queens, to students at Medgar Evers College and Queens College. With increased capacity, the program was further expanded to include York College, LaGuardia Community College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and now also includes high school students from Women’s Academy of Excellence in the Bronx and the Xinos youth program of the national sorority of Phi Delta Kappa Epsilon Chapter.

The four-day program included workshops and presentations by professionals in the fields of beauty, social and professional etiquette, dressing for success, social networking, financial literacy, life skills, leadership, personal growth, and presentation skills. On Wednesday, April 4, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, 25 students visited the New York Historical Society exhibition Rebel Spirits: Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Several students were interviewed by WCBS-TV, NY-1 and Fox5 News.

The week concluded with a dinner featuring an inspiring keynote address by Gloria Browne-Marshall, an Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) and a former civil rights attorney. Professor Browne-Marshall distributed copies of the US Constitution and led a discussion of several of the amendments.

"It’s gratifying to hear how much the students benefit from their experiences during Role Model week,” said Cheryl Green-Foster, President of the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women.

The week of workshops and job shadowing culminated on Thursday, April 5, “Insights Day,” with a closing ceremony, program review and scholarship presentation.

College Scholarship winners were:

· 1st place— Naa-Afi Tackie

· 2nd place— Serphie LaGuerre

· 3rd place— Yacine Ndiaye

The Evelyn Payne Davis Scholarship—named in honor of one of the Coalition’s founders and its first President and awarded to students who have had to overcome many obstacles in their educational pursuit— went to Emily Gonzalez, a senior at Queens College.

High School Scholarship winner was Beatrice Igboekwe.