This weekend in Los Angeles, Magic Johnson hosted an event honoring high achieving minority youth throughout the United States who have earned the Magic Johnson Foundation's (MJF) Taylor Michaels Scholarship.
This marks the 15th anniversary of the program, which is named after MJF’s late COO and works to develop future leaders by supporting socioeconomically challenged promising youth through the completion of their college degree with financial aid and year-round, life-long mentorship.
Johnson took the stage to talk about his own personal barriers to reaching success before surprising student Makiah Green, who attended USC and is the 2nd in her family to graduate from a 4 year anniversary, with a brand new FIAT car.
Highlights from the TMSP:
• 460 scholarships and $4 million awarded since 1998, when the scholarship program was created and named after MJF’s late COO Taylor Michaels
• TMSP scholars attain a Bachelor’s Degree at a rate of over 80%
• TMSP alumni go on to graduate from top universities including Howard, Brown, USC, among others
Along with Magic Johnson, senior leadership from MJF and 110 scholars were on site.
The Magic Johnson Foundation (MJF) is an internationally recognized philanthropic organization. It was founded 22 years ago in response to the extraordinary community support following Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s HIV announcement. Originally created to exclusively address the HIV/AIDS pandemic by issuing grants, the Magic Johnson Foundation continues to expand its programming by addressing a variety of needs in underserved communities, including digital literacy and minority college access. Providing vital resources for success and teaching self-sufficiency, MJF remains dedicated to community empowerment with a wide range of grassroots and Federal advocacy initiatives.
