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- cmmerrittfoundation@gmail.com
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Support a Legacy of Excellence
Support a Legacy of Excellence
About Us
The Candice M Merritt Foundation is dedicated to keeping academically ambitious women and minority students in school by providing scholarships. Our mission specifically supports students in pursuit of degrees in the scientific, technological, engineering, or mathematical fields, ultimately increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in the STEM industry.
Identifying and Supporting Educational Excellence
Provides scholarships to Women and Minority students with demonstrated academic commitment and a drive for excellence. The foundation focuses on students attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (S.T.E.M). The Foundation is named after NCA&TSU student Candice Merritt, who was making great strides in the STEM field before she was killed in a tragic auto accident on December 17, 2016.
The purpose of the CM Merritt Foundation is to find and foster more students like Candice by the creation and maintenance of an Endowment Fund; thereby providing financial scholarship opportunities to deserving students. The CM Merritt foundation allows students to overcome financial limitations to stay on track towards a future in S.T.E.M.
Our mission is to encourage and reward academic excellence and early career exploration. Together we can work towards a future where African Americans and Women are no longer underrepresented in the S.T.E.M field.
CELEBRATING A LIFE OF EXCELLENCE!
Excellence is about having a positive ‘can do’ attitude, a willingness to work hard to achieve goals, a pride in your own work and a desire to do your best. It is also a practical application of Thankfulness, which lifts you up above your circumstances, allowing you to view and approach challenges through a different lens.
The CM Merritt Foundation
Is named after NCA&TSU student Candice Merritt. On December 17, 2016, at 22 years of age, Candice was killed in an auto accident while en route to pickup her first puppy; Baylor, an 8 week old Poodle that she had always dreamed of owning. By the time of the accident, Candice had successfully completed all but three credits towards her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with a Minor in Chemistry. Candice was scheduled to graduate with Magna Cum Laude Honors at the May 2017 commencement. She had already accepted an invitation from BASF Corporation to be a part of their highly competitive Professional and Leadership Development Program (PDP) following summer internships at BASF and Dow Chemical. Candice was also courted by a host of other Engineering companies who saw not just her aptitude, but her passion for life and her potential to become a dominant force in engineering, entrepreneurship and personal development.
Candice was also a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society, the Council of Presidents, the NCA&T Honors Program, the National Society of Black Engineers and other organizations. Candice was not only an Engineer. Before college, Candice launched a separate career as a writer. She published her first 345-page novel, “Elemental,” in December, 2015 and had already begun working on the sequel. She was a natural comedian and gifted speaker, an Aggie Toastmaster, in fact. Candice could take any situation and speak laughter and love into the entire room, always seizing the opportunity to leave her audience with an uplifting message. She had even begun her next project logging video content for a YouTube channel -- “Normal Girl 2.0” -- to help others achieve the feeling of being “more physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally well and powerful.” The greatest of all of Candice’s accomplishments was accepting Christ into her life. While at NCT&T she grew her faith at New Jerusalem Cathedral and her connection to her purpose grew stronger with each and every gift revealed.
At 22, Candice had already accomplished more than others twice her age. Her resume expanded career opportunities across the country. She took Chemical Engineering seriously, and also lived a life of service as mentor, tutor and volunteer in organizations such as the ELIMU Empowerment Center. To know Candice was to love Candice; she would give you no other option. Candice leaves behind, her parents Bill and Marcia; her siblings Alexandria, Jasmine and William III, and a wealth of friends and memories that her Foundation will honor by awarding scholarships to other students like her.
Meet the team
CM Merritt Foundation Board & Staff
S.t.e.m.
S.T.E.M stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and is typically used to refer to these subjects within the educational space.
S.T.E.M subjects are often challenging, and a small percentage of student pursue these disciplines. As our future leaders rise to meet the demands of an ever evolving workforce and technology advances faster than ever, STEM education becomes more and more important. Since 1990, STEM occupations have grown by 79%. Of these jobs, 93% of them pay higher than the national average. But who is pursuing S.T.E.M?
Only 3% of students pursuing engineering at a collegiate level are minority women. That number is 5.4% for mathematics and for 4.8 computer science.
Women are statistically less likely to land STEM jobs after graduating with a STEM degree when compared to their male counterparts.
Black and Hispanic workers make up 24% of the American workforce, by only 12% of the engineering industry.
Women male up half of the american college-educated workforce, but only 28% of the STEM workforce.
The CM Merritt Foundation creates more opportunity for female and minority students by providing the funds needed to remove financial limitations and complete S.T.E.M education. By supporting the CM Merritt Foundation, you celebrate academic excellence among underrepresented students and promote critical diversity in the most important industry of our future.
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