The Vonne Group’s mission is to dramatically increase the number of African-American females in hospitality executive and ownership levels. The goal of The Elizabeth Swans Smith Emerging Pineapple Professional Scholarship is to help remove the financial barriers preventing many African-American students from reaching this important milestone.
Scholarship
Elizabeth Swans Smith
The Elizabeth Swans Smith Emerging Pineapple Professional Scholarship is an award designed to support African-American female students majoring
and minoring in hospitality administration. Founded by Davonne Reaves, the scholarship was created in honor of her late grandmother Elizabeth Swans Smith who introduced the hospitality guru to the industry.
FAQs
The Elizabeth Swans Smith Emerging Pineapple Professional Scholarship will support African-American Female graduates who meet eligibility requirements and need assistance paying for postsecondary education.
We fund students pursuing their technical, associate’s, or bachelor’s credentials or graduate degrees. The Elizabeth Swans Smith Emerging Professional Scholarship will not provide scholarships for more than one associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
An eligible college/university is an accredited, nonprofit private, or public college or technical program.
The Elizabeth Swans Smith Emerging Pineapple Professional Scholarship awards can be used for any part of the cost of attendance at accredited, nonprofit, or public colleges/universities, in- and out-of-state. Cost of attendance (COA) includes tuition, fees, room, board, and allowances for books, travel, and other fees. Visit your college’s website to find the COA for your college.
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP
About the Scholarship Elizabeth Swans Smith was the 12th of 19 children born to the late Masco and Vera Swans in Ellaville, GA. Due to the segregation of schools in her hometown, her formal education ended after the eighth grade. Still, through resilience and hard work, she built a career as a nursing assistant, serving at the state hospital for 32 years.
Though she did not have the opportunity to pursue higher education herself, Elizabeth’s legacy is reflected in her family: all of her children and grandchildren earned bachelor’s degrees, and both of her daughters went on to receive master’s degrees.
To honor her grandmother’s life, legacy, and the anniversary of her homegoing, Davonne Reaves established The Elizabeth Swans Smith Emerging Pineapple Professional Scholarship. The scholarship supports African-American women pursuing careers in hospitality—a field Davonne entered because of her grandmother’s influence and encouragement.
SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicants must:
- Be an undergraduate or graduate student majoring or minoring in hospitality
- Be enrolled in an eligible college/university or technical program
- Hold a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5
- Students enrolling in a technical school or associate degree program (2-year school) are also eligible to apply
KEY DATES
- Coming Soon
AWARD AMOUNT
- $1,000
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