RALEIGH, NC— Kaleb Felton, a senior at Perquimans High School in Hertford, North Carolina, is the recipient of the inaugural Dr. Andrea Harris Community Action and Leadership Scholarship, sponsored by North Carolina Community Action Association
Felton, who will attend North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, this fall with plans to major in Mechanical Engineering, credits his grandmother Joyce G. Felton for encouraging him to pursue his dreams despite being diagnosed at an early age with Autism and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Felton said his grandmother spent her career working with Head Start children and those with disabilities. “Dr. Harris fought for economic and social justice, my grandmother fought just as hard for me, that my disability doesn't define who I am,” said Felton who has excelled academically by maintaining a 3.0 grade point average, volunteers in his community and is active in school activities and events. “Dr. Harris’ leadership started at a community action agency in North Carolina. We want her legacy of helping people and changing lives to transcend generations to come,” said Sharon C. Goodson, Executive Director for the North Carolina Community Action Association. Given annually, the $2,500 scholarship commemorates the life, legacy, and contributions of Dr. Andrea Harris, who at the age of 25 became the youngest woman in the nation to be the Executive Director of a community action agency. Recipients of the scholarship must represent underserved populations and attend a historically black college or university (HBCU) in North Carolina.