Helping a young man go to college

Hello, my name is Maria Vervaet. For those of you that know me, perhaps you remember a sweet little boy who danced as a wedding gift to us at my wedding? Or, to go even further, Julie Cook, who’s dad was best friends with my dad since high school, is also one of my best friends. Julie has raised her son, Mekhi by herself, making sure he lacked for nothing, and helping him develop into the fine young man he is today, all while working full time to support his needs and dreams.

This incredible young man has been accepted to Clark University, his dream school. (You have to have a 3.5 GPA to be accepted).

A bit about my adoptive nephew, he carries a 3.8 GPA, while working as the assistant manager at Chipotle, he is big brother and mentor to his younger siblings, and continues to strive at his best in everything he sets his mind to. Not only does he have the eye for fashion that he wants to go into, but he has the mental capacity to carry out the business end of his career as well.

Here are his words as to why he wants to attend this school:

“I found out about Clark my sophomore year and ever since then I fell in love. The environment, the culture, and just the overall experience of going to an hbcu has always been on my mind, ever since I started looking at colleges. Clark was always at the top of that list. I want to go to Clark to study business, specifically business management. I also have a strong passion for fashion so I would love to join their fashion program. I started saving up for Clark around January and have around 3000 dollars.”

A bit about CAU:

Clark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, both of which hold unique places in the annals of African-American history. Atlanta University, established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, was the nation’s first institution to award graduate degrees to African-Americans. Clark College, established four years later in 1869, was the nation’s first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African-American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Morehouse School of Medicine) that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium. It is also the largest of the 37-member UNCF institutions.

Anything you can donate to help Mekhi’s dream come true would be amazing. He’s already been accepted to SEVERAL schools, and does have a back up plan, but this is his dream. He has a few scholarships as well, however any help is welcome so that he may achieve this dream!

I cannot express to you how proud I am of him, no matter what’s school he ends up going to, he will do great things. ♥️