PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (September 3, 2020) – Adaeze Eze, a senior biology major and student in the Honors Program and Undergraduate Medical Academy at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), is the latest recipient of the ETS Presidential Scholarship for HBCU Students. A partnership with ETS and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the Presidential Scholarship for HBCU Students offers financial assistance to eight outstanding students across the U.S. who attend private and publicly-supported historically black colleges and universities.

“I am sincerely honored to have been selected for this scholarship,” Eze said. “It gives me the opportunity to work toward successfully completing the last year of my undergraduate education without financial burden.”

Junior or senior award applicants for the ETS Presidential Scholarship are considered based on their grade point average, which must be 3.5 or higher, leadership abilities, and demonstrated financial need. Eze says the scholarship will assist her in becoming a physician-scientist.

“I am fascinated with the complexity of the human body,” she said. “I am also passionate about uplifting others spiritually and physically, researching ways to treat and care for the sick, and, most importantly, healing the sick.”

Two years ago, her seven-year-old niece was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The medical prognosis sparked Eze’s interest in biomedical research and cancer treatments.

“I found a professor on campus who was conducting cancer research, and I began working in that lab. With guidance from that professor-turned-mentor and a grant from the university to fund the research, I developed a personalized plan targeted for ALL patients like my niece.”

Eze’s research both enhanced her mentor’s lab progress and supported her niece’s patient care at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“I am seen in my family as someone who is credible in determining which treatment option will work best for my niece,” she said. “I now realize the importance of scientific research both as a student and as a future medical doctor. With this scholarship, I am one step closer to becoming the physician-scientist and global leader that I desire to become.”

Quincy Moore, director of the Honors Program, said, “Ms. Eze is a rare talent with incredible potential. She is prepared to learn new things and is ready for the challenges that await her as a scholarship recipient.”