MMHMF Scholarship Recipient

AYANNA OTEY
2022 MMHMF Scholarship Recipient

Virginia State University Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biology

The 2022 Virginia State University Endowed Scholarship Recipient

We congratulate Ayanna! She was selected to receive this award by faculty at Matoaca High School and VSU.

The Virginia State University (VSU) Endowed Scholarship fund was established in 2011 in memory of our namesake, the Late Martha Mason Hill, to fund scholarships for Chesterfield County students attending the university. Mrs. Hill was employed at VSU for 40 years, retiring in 1970. While working there, she helped her seven daughters and the two granddaughters she raised attend the institution, then Virginia State College.

Ayanna graduated from Matoaca High School in May 2022. She is currently enrolled at VSU and is majoring in biology. While at Matoaca High School, Ayanna was a cheerleader for both the school’s basketball team and the football team for four years. She was a member of the outdoor and the indoor track teams from 2018 to 2022.

Update: January 2024

“Greetings!  Throughout my freshman 2022-2023 academic year I have had some struggles and a lot of tricks and turns. In the beginning I was trying to fit in and find what best fits for me but there was so many distractions in my path of success. I am not going to lie I did have a lot of fun but the fun got to my head to the point where I was not focused on any school work so my grades started to slip by the end of my freshman semesters I finished out with a 1.4 but I was offered a second chance during the summer. So during my summer I took 5 classes and set goals for each and every one of them. My summer my goals were to finish with 3 A’s and 2 Bs that would put my GPA up to 3.2.  I was also under another scholarship that required me to have a 2.5, and so I fought for it during the summer.  At the end of the summer, I finished with 2 As 2 Bs and 1 C that raised my GPA from 1.4 to now a 3.0.  I have also been introduced and honored by organizations on campus and have attended other schools as a representative of VCAN (Virginia College Affordability Network) to share my story. At the end of the day, I now know what I need to focus on and what goals I need to set to make my sophomore year even better. I did a lot of praying and tried to stay in a positive environment.  Keeping God in my corner at all times is what got me through my summer.  I give my biggest thanks to the man above. I would also like to thank the Martha Mason Hill Memorial Foundation for the support and effort you put in for me including the time that has been wasted. Throughout the rest of my years, I, Ayanna Otey, will promise to make the best of everything.