Rice student wins scholarship for civil rights leadership

CONTACT: Margot
Dimond
PHONE: (713) 348-6775
EMAIL: mdimond@rice.edu

RICE
STUDENT WINS SCHOLARSHIP FOR CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERSHIP
Only Five Nationwide
Win $50,000 Scholarships

Rice University student
Audrey Ette, a senior from Dayton, Texas, is one of five national winners of a
$50,000 Fight For Your Rights Leadership Scholarship.

The FFYR scholarship
program is sponsored by MTV and SHiNE, a national nonprofit organization that is
the designated youth component of the White House’s national Campaign Against
Youth Violence, and the National Conference for Community and Justice, in
partnership with the Anti-Defamation League and the Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights. (SHiNE stands for Seeking Harmony in Neighborhoods
Everyday.)

The scholarship is given
to a student leader between 16 and 24 who is committed to social change, has a
demonstrated record of involvement in civil rights work and plans to study or
pursue a career that supports the advancement of civil rights.

“I feel very blessed and
fortunate to have been selected for such an honor,” said Ette. “Out of an
estimated 30,000 students who downloaded the application from the MTV web site,
only five were chosen and I was one of them.”

A political
science/managerial studies major, Ette plans to use her scholarship money to
attend law school after completing her undergraduate degree. She sees her law
degree “as an avenue into politics to work in areas concerning minority affairs
or education.”

Ette graduated from
Dayton High School as the salutatorian of her class. Her mother, Rita Gilmore,
is a high school economics teacher and debate coach and her father, Renwick
Gilmore, is a pastor.

She is currently
president of the Black Student Association and a member of the Minority
Interests Committee; ADVANCE, which stands for Advocating Diversity and the need
for Cultural Exchange; the National Society of Black Engineers; and the newly
formed chapter of the Rice NAACP. In addition, she serves on the President’s
Council for Minority Affairs.

Ette has served as an
Orientation Week advisor at Baker College and a diversity facilitator. As a
member of the Black Student Coalition, she was involved in bringing the esteemed
scholar Cornel West to Rice and coordinating the second Racial Solidarity Week.
She also is a member of the Rice Melodious Voices of Praise Gospel Choir and
IMPACT Bible Study. Last year, she was selected for Who’s Who Among American
Colleges & Universities.

“It is exciting but not
surprising, that Audrey would win a national leadership award,” said Terry
Shepard, vice president for public affairs, the campus office where Ette is
employed. “Across campus, she has been a poised, strong and quietly determined
leader in support of harmony, justice and public service. In my office, where
she has worked since her sophomore year, she has displayed maturity,
intelligence and judgment, becoming a full-fledged member of the
team.”

For more information on
the FFYR Leadership Scholarship and profiles of the scholarship winners, go to
<http://www.mtv.com/onair/ffyr/challenge_grant.jhtml>.