Warsame Yusuf
Biography
Originally from Boston, I’ve been a resident of Atlanta since 2016, working in corporate finance at companies such as General Electric, Honeywell, and Stanley Black & Decker. I went to high school at Boston Latin Academy in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. After that, I attended Syracuse University where I graduated with a degree in finance. My family made their careers helping others and when I grew up, I wanted to do something similar regardless of if it was my profession or not. I made it a priority to get into the space of helping people and I couldn’t be happier to do so with Scholar & A Dream. In my spare time, I enjoy rooting for Boston professional sports teams, traveling to new places and cooking.
Head of Programming
Why Did You Create S&D?
One of the reasons I wanted to help start Scholar & A Dream was because I know firsthand how tough it can be to pay for college without the help of scholarships and grants. As the oldest of three brothers, I worked hard throughout high school to earn scholarships to ease the financial burden of going to college for my family. I started a scholarship program with my college friends because I know how much work was required to put into it and I wanted to do so with people I enjoy being around.
Why Is Scholarship Important?
Scholarship is important to me because it’s a proven signal of academic excellence. It’s a head start that helps throughout college and beyond. Mentoring is even more important to me because a good support system is paramount to success in any field you join after graduating. I hope that Scholar & A Dream can prove to be the support system students need. I believe it’s important to be a part of a scholarship fund founded entirely by minorities. Programs like these are rare and I hope to show the students we work with that there are many paths to success—and when that comes from individuals that look like them and have similar backgrounds as them, it’s a big deal.
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What Do You Envision for S&D?
I would hope for continued growth from our base program, which includes college scholarship funding, expansion of mentorship programs for students in the NYC area and beyond. I’d also love to continue to expand our career development strategies with the students we work with in relation to our everchanging world.
