Hon. Betty Joan Lester Scholarship

The Scholarship Awards Program is open to students, in Southwest Florida, requiring financial assistance to successfully matriculate Howard University’s undergraduate or graduate programs (“Applicants”). The application review and scholarship selection process will be managed by the Scholarship Committee of the Howard Club of Southwest Florida, Inc. (“The Committee”). If you have any questions, please email scholarship@howardclubswfl.org.

Available to new or continuing Howard University students, in southwest Florida meeting program requirements

Seeking to attend Howard University in the fall.

This year, the Howard Club will make available a new Lester Scholarship in honor of the Hon. Betty Joan Lester.

Applications to participate in the scholarship awards program will become available on October 15th, and must be completed by January 15th of the year.

Applications may be:

• Picked up at local high schools
• Downloaded from the Howard Club website (scroll to the bottom of this page) Howardclubswfl.org
• Submitted online (scroll to the bottom of this page)

THE LESTER SCHOLARSHIP

The Howard Club Of Southwest Florida Inc., shall establish an endowed annual scholarship to be known as the Hon. Betty Joan Lester Scholarship. The Lester Scholarship is established to honor the memory of the Hon. Betty Joan Lester.  Betty Joan Lester was an outstanding graduate of Howard University, and a distinguished Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Judge Lester spent many hours coaching young minority lawyers on how to pass the NJ Bar Examination. She spent additional hours developing a community-based after-school program for underprivileged youth. Judge Lester had a love of English writing and placed a heavy emphasis on developing excellent writing skills and felt that good writing was an integral part of one’s individual success and accomplishments in life.

The Lester Scholarship is made possible through the generous gift of her husband Althear Lester.

Application and Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for a scholarship (Scholarship Award), you must be a graduating high school senior or recently graduated (in the last 2 years), a student currently enrolled at Howard University or a student enrolled in a Howard University graduate program that is a U.S. citizen or a legal resident. All Scholarships Awards shall be approved for use in an academic degree-granting program at Howard University.

​To compete for a Scholarship Award, you must first complete the Application Form (“Application”) attached to this notice (you may use additional pages to complete your answers, if necessary). You must also provide other documentation as described below.  You must complete your Application and email it along with all requested supporting documentation to The Howard Club’s website at scholarship@howardclubswfl.org  in sufficient time for it to be received by The Committee by January 15th, or you may email it to The Committee Chairperson at chjones9974@msn.com.

After you have submitted your application you may be requested to participate in an interview if The Committee has additional questions regarding your application that require clarification (“Interview”).  The Committee will notify you of the status of your Application for a Scholarship Award by March 15th.

​Other Documentation

The following items must be included with your Application: (1) An official school Transcript; (2) A short Essay; and (3) Two Letters of Recommendation.​

• Transcript  Your Transcript must be sent directly from your current or most recently attended high school to the address listed on the Application.
• Essay - Your Essay must be limited to 500 words and should make a connection between higher education and your personal, academic and career aspirational goals and articulate how you plan to achieve those goals and how the Scholarship Award will fit into that plan. Your Essay should show:​
• ​Engagement  discuss extracurricular volunteer, internship, work or research experiences or other experiences that add to your academic pursuits;
• ​​Leadership  discuss your role in or contribution to any experiences discussed; and
• ​​Sense of Purpose  provide evidence of having a sense of direction and an understanding of how that sense of direction has developed through past experiences.​
• Letters of Recommendation - Your Letters of Recommendation may come from many sources: teachers, counselors, ministers, community members, employers, etc. Letters of Recommendation may not come from a family member. One of your Letters of Recommendation should come from a volunteer experience. The Letters should also provide context for assessing your potential for managing college-level studies at Howard University.