Maitland wins ELC scholarship: Empowering future Black leaders

Rising senior Kimberly Maitland has been selected as a recipient of a scholarship from the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) for $10,000.

ELC’s mission is to increase the number of successful Black executives both domestically and internationally. Its scholarship program empowers students and prepares the next generation of leaders. 

“I feel extremely honored and grateful to be selected for this opportunity,” Maitland said. “Winning this scholarship as well as entering the Executive Leadership Council Scholars’ cohort will provide me with a wealth of knowledge and experience, especially when I meet like-minded peers at the Honor Symposium in D.C. Additionally, The funding will further lower my financial barriers to education and limit extra loans I have to take up for school.”

Maitland received the Award for Excellence in Business Commentary Scholarship, which is a national award for high-achieving Black students. The funding assists with educational expenses for the upcoming academic year. 

She gives a shoutout to Dungy Writing Studio Director Laura Farmer for supporting her through this process and says her Cornell classes inspired the content she submitted in the extensive application. 

“My professors Santhi Hejeebu, Genevieve Migely, and Todd Knoop taught me classes in economics and business ethics,” Maitland said. “The concepts I learned in their classes had a profound impact on shaping my understanding of business and economics, income inequality, and corporate social responsibility. Exploring these topics in their classes played a vital role in informing my thought process while crafting the essays for this scholarship. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to learn from their expertise.” 

Maitland is a double major in English: creative writing and diversity management, which is an individualized major based on the personnel management major and classes that highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.

She says she wants to encourage other Cornell students to apply for scholarships, like this one, to help students thrive after college. 

“Several different nonprofit organizations (including ELC) can help students to fund their education,” Maitland said. “These organizations are committed to helping students focus on being truly immersed in their studies, so they don’t have to worry about whether the cost of learning will impede their success.”