Scholarships highlight: Malcolm Walker

Scholarships are an essential part of TogetherATL. Our scholarships help to make college affordable for students, giving them access to new opportunities that can change their lives.

Earlier this year, Malcolm Walker, a 2020 recipient of the Nancy Penn Lyons Scholarship, was selected for The Paley Center for Media‘s highly competitive Peter Roth Internship Program. We talked to Malcolm about his experience of receiving a scholarship and his goals for the future.

Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you attend school, and what are you studying?
My name is Malcolm Walker, and I am a Dean’s List senior at New York University (NYU) studying Film and Television Production.

How did you learn about the Community Foundation and its scholarships?
During my freshman year of high school, my mother and I made it a priority to look for scholarships to alleviate some of the harsh financial pressures of college tuition. Being a student at North Atlanta High School, an Atlanta public school, I was made aware of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta by my high school counselor, who guided us toward eligible scholarships. I started applying and felt honored to be awarded!

How did the scholarship from the Community Foundation help you?
The Community Foundation scholarship provided crucial financial support for my education at New York University. My sister and I graduated from high school together and were both accepted into college. With our younger sibling also entering college two years later, our family faced almost one million in college costs and expenses. That was impossible for us to afford. The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta scholarships ease the burden of educational expenses and allow students to focus on their studies rather than feel pressure from financial strain.

How do you think your college experience may have been impacted if you didn’t receive a Scholarship?
Being able to study television and film at New York University Tisch School of The Arts has been one of the best experiences of my life! I have landed jobs as a production assistant on major Warner Bros. Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, and Marvel Studios films, including Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

In 2023, I studied abroad at NYU London and served as an editorial and production intern with Polar Media. I also landed coveted summer fellowships, including the Paley Center for Media’s Peter Roth Internship Program and Diverso: Black Writers in Focus. I know with full certainty that I would not have been able to attend college without the support of the Community Foundation scholarship.

Do you have a level of mental/emotional freedom not having to worry about student loan debt, compared to other students?
In May, I will graduate with honors from NYU without the worry of burdensome student loan debt. I feel a tremendous sense of freedom knowing I can start my life and career without financial pressure and worry. I remain grateful that I worked hard to seek and attain scholarships and am hopeful for the same outcome as I apply for graduate school.

What are some of your goals/aspirations?
I aspire to one day write and direct for film and television, bringing authenticity and a depth of experience to the big screen. My goal is to become an entertainment mogul.

What advice would you give students looking for a scholarship?
My advice would be to start your scholarship search as early as freshman year and to look for more community-based scholarships. Typically, everyone applies for the more nationally-known scholarships like the Coca-Cola and Gates Millenium scholar programs. The pool for these opportunities is very large, which means the likelihood of receiving the awards can be very small for any individual student.

However, social, civic, Greek-letter organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other community-based organizations often have scholarships with smaller pools of competition. Applying to multiple scholarships like these will increase your odds of earning scholarship funds as long as you are willing to do the work to maintain your academics, test scores, leadership skills, and community service.

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In 2020, we talked to Malcolm about his work with VOX ATL. Read the full story here.