For many students, getting accepted into college is only the first step. The next challenge is figuring out how to afford it.
A local scholarship fund is helping dozens of students take that next step, awarding a record amount this year to help ease the financial burden of higher education.
The ILA Scholarship Fund awarded $82,000 in scholarships to 24 students this year as part of its 31st anniversary celebration.
For Celena Robinson, the support has helped make a college dream feel possible.
“I’m first-generation, so I didn’t know about the cost or how much it really costs to attend college,” Robinson said.
Robinson, a biology and pre-med student at Florida A&M University, said navigating college costs can be overwhelming, especially for students who are the first in their families to pursue higher education.
“Just because someone in your family didn’t seek out what you are seeking out in life doesn’t mean you are not capable of doing it,” Robinson said.
Robinson is now a four-time recipient of the ILA Scholarship and plans to attend medical school to become a pediatrician.
The scholarship fund says more than 60% of its recipients are first-generation college students, opening doors for families who have not previously had someone pursue a college degree.
Receiving an ILA Scholarship is not automatic. Students are evaluated through a scoring system the fund created to make the process fair and consistent.
Executive Director Jadene Newborn Whaley said the selection process considers a student’s GPA, community service and an essay, which makes up the largest portion of the application.
“We wanted to make sure our grading criteria was fair across the board and very inclusive, so we created a matrix,” Whaley said.
The scoring system is based on 100 points. Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA, but Whaley said many students applying have much higher grades.
This year’s applicant pool was especially competitive. Whaley said some students scored above 90 points, and the minimum qualifying score for a scholarship was 88.
The fund awarded larger scholarships to its top-scoring applicants this year, including one $10,000 award and three $8,000 awards.
“People are hurting, and college students are feeling the brunt of a lot of executive orders that have come down,” Whaley said. “We’ve felt it was really important that we reduce the number of students that we award and make sure the students we do award get a little more.”
For Ayden Glover, the scholarship meant starting college with less financial stress.
Glover graduated as valedictorian from Riverside High School in 2025 and is entering her sophomore year at Florida A&M University, where she studies political science. She is also a fourth-generation FAMU student continuing her family’s legacy.
“My first year of college was fully funded, so that really took the financial strain off of my family,” Glover said.
Glover said students should not let the cost of college stop them from pursuing their goals.
“I will always encourage everyone to go to school. Of course, it is scary thinking, how are you going to get there? There are resources out there,” she said.
The fund says its goal is to continue investing in students and helping them pursue opportunities through higher education.