Dorsett-Wilson, Woodfork Named 2024 White House Initiative HBCU Scholars

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 8, 2024) – The White House Initiative (WHI) on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has selected North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students Khelsei Dorsett-Wilson and Charles-Anthony Woodfork as 2024 HBCU Competitiveness Scholars.

“As high-achieving North Carolina A&T students, Khelsei and Charles-Anthony are advancing the human condition through their leadership,” said Tonya Smith-Jackson, provost and executive vice chancellor of Academic Affairs. “We know they will make the most of this opportunity to gain greater knowledge and expand their positive impact, and we are confident in their continued success.”

Dorsett-Wilson and Woodfork, who are 2021 Dowdy Scholars and Honors College students, will serve as ambassadors for both WHI and N.C. A&T. They are among 110 students who were chosen from 77 HBCUs nationwide to receive the initiative’s highest honor based on academic achievements, campus leadership, civic engagement and entrepreneurial spirit. They raise A&T’s total number of participants in this program to 20 since it began in 2014.

“This recognition is a testament to Khelsei and Charles-Anthony’s dedication, hard work and leadership,” said Brittany R. Franklin, an assistant Honors College director and the Dowdy Scholars Enrichment Program coordinator. “They embody the spirit of excellence and commitment to making a positive impact, and I have no doubt they will continue to inspire and lead others through this remarkable opportunity.”

Dorsett-Wilson, of Snellville, Georgia, is a senior pursuing a B.A. in liberal studies (pre-law) from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, has earned recognition on the Chancellor’s List and is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society. She received the university’s Outstanding Honors Freshman Award in 2021 and has served on the Student Advisory Board for the university’s Center of Excellence for Social Justice since 2023, as a member of the National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda: Next Generation Leadership Institute since 2022, National Black Law Students Association and president of the Accelerated Pathway to Law School Program, both since 2021. This summer, she joined the Biden for President, now Harris for President, campaign as an intern with the political and coalitions department, where she assists the campaign in tracking engagement with elected officials across the country.  She completed a study abroad program at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona this spring, when she also was endorsed as a 2024 Truman Scholar, and was a member of the 2022 Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute scholars cohort.

“I am dedicated to advancing Black maternal equity and I plan to leverage my career at the intersection of law and healthcare to be a public servant,” she said. “On campus, I have helped women students understand and advocate for their health and policies that support their health. Off campus, I have partnered with nonprofit and city agencies to provide postpartum essentials. It is an honor to be part of the HBCU Scholar Recognition cohort and help highlight HBCUs’ contributions to all communities and to encourage continued investment in HBCUs.”

Woodfork, of San Francisco, is a senior pursuing a B.S. in food and nutritional sciences from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and has earned recognition on the Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List. A member of Alpha Lambda Delta and Kappa Omicron Nu honor societies, he is an Association for the Study of African American Life and History Carter G. Woodson Fellow, 2023 Benjamin A. Gilman Scholar, and president and founder of the Family and Consumer Sciences Leadership Council at A&T. As a Gilman Scholar, Charles-Anthony spent the spring semester studying at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona while also serving as a clinical volunteer at Sant Joan de Deu, the top children’s hospital in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. Additionally, he served as a Washington Program Scholar with the Institute for Responsible Citizenship for the summers of 2023 and 2024 and a Piedmont Area Health Education Center Scholar from September 2022 through 2024. He also was a summer student research intern at the University of California, San Francisco, where he worked on a clinical research project and later presented it to Federally Qualified Health Center staff, the California Adverse Childhood Experiences Commission and the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors.

“During my time at N.C. A&T, I’ve sought out knowledge and opportunities: academically as a Dowdy Scholar and as founder and president of the Men’s Roundtable in Biology, as well as civically through my participation in events like Vice President Kamala Harris’ Fight for Our Freedoms Tour and White House HBCU Celebration Day, where I had the pleasure of meeting Vice President Harris in addition to interacting with and learning from other White House staff. More recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by WFMY2 News to discuss the magnitude of the Vice President Harris running for president as a Black woman and HBCU product,” he said. “I believe in the power of academic and experimental learning to prepare me for my career as a physician. I am elated to join the legacy of the HBCU Scholar Recognition Program and gain exposure to federal administrators across various fields.”

As 2024 HBCU Scholars, Dorsett-Wilson and Woodfork will be invited to monthly master classes hosted by the initiative and its various partners representing a wide range of disciplines. They will have the opportunity to network with fellow scholars, federal agencies and private partners to showcase individual and collective talent across the HBCU community.

They also will be invited to attend the 2024 Annual National HBCU Week Conference, scheduled for Sept. 15-19 in Philadelphia, and will receive funding for airfare, ground transportation, lodging and meals. The conference will feature a mini Minority University Research and Education Project Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition showcase – related to a partnership with NASA – along with more than 32 conference sessions and the HBCU Week Career and Recruitment Fair.

A&T’s WHI HBCU Scholars have included recipients of the Astronaut Scholarship, Goldwater Scholarship, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program and ETS Presidential Scholarship for HBCU Students, among others.

Eligible candidates are encouraged to review the web pages for the WHI Scholar Recognition Program through the end of the calendar year in advance of the next application cycle.

Institutional nomination or endorsement is required before students can apply for the WHI HBCU Scholar Recognition Program, which also has been known as the White House Competitiveness Scholars Program for HBCU Students. Students, faculty and staff may contact Alsace-Lorraine Gallop, A&T’s national scholarships and fellowships coordinator with NCAT Extraordinary Opportunities, at acgallop@ncat.edu for details.