Spring Hill College to honor first Fannie E. Motley Scholarship recipient

MOBILE — Spring Hill College will honor its first Fannie E. Motley Scholarship recipient on Wednesday, Sept. 12.  Jasmine R. Williams, a freshman who is a graduate of Theodore High School, will be honored at a reception at 4 p.m. 

The scholarship was named in honor of Fannie Ernestine Motley, the first African-American student to graduate from Spring Hill College in 1956. She was one of the first African-American students to enroll at Spring Hill College in 1954. After graduating with honors in history and English, Motley taught second grade in the Mobile County school system at A.F. Owens School. She then moved to Cincinnati with her husband, Rev. D.L. Motley Sr. and continued teaching for 24 years.  In addition to teaching in Cincinnati, she earned her master’s degree in counseling from Xavier University.

The Fannie E. Motley Scholarship at Spring Hill College is designed for “well-rounded individuals who will be involved in campus activities and who have the ability to enhance diversity on campus through the celebration of their own unique heritage.” 

As stated in her scholarship letter, Williams explains, “I feel that I will not only enhance, but grasp the diversity of Spring Hill’s campus because I have spent my entire life in very diverse environments.” Williams received several honors and awards while in high school. As a writer her poetry was published in several publications, and she was voted Homecoming Queen, Junior Sweetheart and Who’s Who Best Personality.

Scholarship recipients are selected upon several criteria, including underrepresented qualities of leadership and concern for ethics and justice, involvement in campus activities, ability to enhance the diversity on campus through familiarity with and appreciation for their own cultural heritage, and the need for financial assistance to attend Spring Hill.