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CHARLOTTE, N.C./May 3, 2017��–��������Ƶ sophomore Kioda Wilson of Axton, Va., received a $2,000 MetLife STEM Scholarship from the Independent College Fund of North Carolina (ICFNC). Wilson is majoring in international business administration.

The criteria for this scholarship is strict. Recipients must have financial need; meet or exceed a 3.2 grade point average; and demonstrate campus involvement, work experience or community service experience. Preference is given to computer, engineering or math majors, and students from underrepresented populations in those majors.

Wilson is looking for banking internships and dreams of leading marketing or project management campaigns overseas. She is currently studying Spanish to prepare to study abroad in her junior or senior year.

“My family doesn’t go a lot of places, so I always thought how wonderful it would be to explore the world,” Wilson said.

“Different places have different benefits to offer. That’s why I chose JCSU, because I come from a small town. There’s no Walmart and not many traffic lights, even. But I’m very into culture, and at JCSU, the culture is so rich,” she expressed.

Wilson is a part of the National Council of Negro Women; Delta Mu Delta, the international honor society for business administration programs; Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Fraternity, which recognizes academic excellent in first-year students; and the Helping Hands and Healing Hearts mentorship program. She made the Dean’s List for Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, and in 2016 she was honored as the JCSU freshman with the most community service hours.

As the second-oldest of four and the only one attending college in this generation of her family, Wilson actively encourages her siblings to take school seriously and continue their education.

“I tell them they’ve got to stay focused, because at some point, the future is right there,” she said. “Start preparing early.”

MetLife has contributed $76,000 over the past four years for scholarships to independent college students in North Carolina. The Independent College Fund of North Carolina is a division of North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU), the sector of higher education that represents North Carolina’s 36 private, non-profit colleges and universities.