Three Wofford College students have been recognized for their service to the campus and local communities.
Taylor Fuller ’24, a biology and sociology and anthropology double major from Roebuck, South Carolina; Ashley Manigault ’24, a French and psychology double major from Charleston, South Carolina; and MauriAnna Richardson ’25, a chemistry major from Columbia, South Carolina, have earned the Penny Koger Memorial Scholarship. They were honored during the Black Alumni Summit held during Homecoming.
Fuller also earned the inaugural Harold Mitchell Jr. and Marlon Hunter ReGenesis Healthcare Undergraduate Scholarship for students pursuing studies in health care-related fields at a four-year college or university in South Carolina.
In addition, Nadia Ferguson ’25, a chemistry major from Spartanburg, received the 1854 Heritage Fund award.
“The primary consideration for each of these awards is community service,” says Dr. Dwain Pruitt, Wofford’s chief equity officer. “These young women are extraordinarily involved in the community, in addition to being heavily committed to initiatives within our campus community. We are extremely proud of them.”
Fuller is the founder of Wofford’s Minorities in STEM student organization and a board member and lead mentor for Brown Girls Read, a nonprofit dedicated to elevating young black and brown girls through literacy and leadership. She is co-president of the Association of Multicultural Students (AMS) and co-chair of Campus Union’s diversity, inclusion and anti-racism committee.
“This means a great deal to me,” says Fuller. “I’m a first-gen student. Also, both of these are service scholarships, and that’s probably my favorite thing about Wofford.”
Fuller says she plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health and then go to medical school at George Washington University. She hopes to become a pediatric cardiologist.
Richardson has served in secretary roles for Minorities and STEM and AMS. A member of the Black Student Alliance (BSA) and Wofford Women of Color (WWC), Richardson is a mentor with iCAN Spartanburg, a program that matches Wofford students with local high school students. She plans to attend medical school and study internal medicine.
“I am so grateful for this award,” says Richardson. “I’m a first-gen student. My sister is a sophomore at Winthrop, and my mom is a single parent. Financially speaking, this will be a huge help. But it’s also a great honor.”
Manigault has served as president of BSA, co-president of AMS and co-chair of Campus Union’s diversity, inclusion and anti-racism committee. She is a student advocate on the Honor Council, a mentor for Brown Girls Read and a volunteer for Birth Matters.
Ferguson is president of Minorities in STEM, a mentor for Brown Girls Read and a member of BSA, WWC and Alpha Epsilon Delta, a health pre-professional honors society. The 1854 Heritage Fund award will support Ferguson’s Interim study abroad in Santiago, Chile. She hopes to become an obstetrician-gynecologist focused on maternal health for minorities.
The Penny Koger Memorial Scholarship was established in June 2021 to honor the legacy of the late Penny Kroger ’00. She was committed to a life of service, receiving the Metro Spartanburg Boys and Girls Club’s 1997 Volunteer of the Year Award and serving as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc. In February 2008, Ebony magazine recognized her as one of its “30 Rising Leaders Under 30.”
Koger was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and later worked in a series of staff positions for both the Army and the Navy. When she died suddenly in Hawaii in 2013, her sorority honored her memory with a scholarship.