The Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce announced June 1 Amari Green, a graduating senior at Southwestern Classical Academy, as the recipient of the 2020 Katharine Roat Stevens Scholarship.
The scholarship honors the memory of a well-known local business owner and advocate for women in business by helping women in Genesee County pursue their entrepreneurial endeavors.
For Green, this means supporting her journey as she studies fashion design at Clark Atlanta University in Georgia. She hopes her education will help bolster the experience she’s gained from launching the Saniyah fashion line in October 2019.
“I am super grateful for this scholarship,” Green said. “I want to use my education to learn more about business and design. So far, everything I’ve learned has been through trial and error.”
According to Green, her entrepreneurial mindset became apparent when, as a child, she began selling snacks to other children in her neighborhood. It progressed as she sold baked goods to classmates at the age of 12, wigs at age 15 and shoes at age 16. For her current business, she works with an outside manufacturer to create her designs for jogging suits, crop tops and more.
While her senior year experience hasn’t been how she imagined it would be, she said she prefers to look on the bright side.
“I’ve been able to put a lot of energy into Saniyah,” Green said. “So, business has been going really well. My goal was to sell 20 orders in May, and I ended the month with 75.”
In addition to her business, Green earned a 3.9 GPA while also serving as captain of her school’s varsity volleyball and basketball teams. She was also president of the National Honors Society, treasurer of the Delta Gems Sorority, member of Quiz Bowl and a graduate of TeenQuest.
The scholarship fund is held at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint and managed by the Flint & Genesee Chamber Foundation; a supporting organization of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.
“The scholarship committee was very impressed by Amari’s application,” said James Avery, director of Education & Training at the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.
“She is incredibly ambitious, and we look forward to seeing what great things she goes on to accomplish,” Avery added.
The Katharine Roat Stevens Scholarship provides scholarships for young women who are graduating seniors from a Genesee County high school, including public, private, charter, alternative and home school. Applicants should have entrepreneurial aspirations, a 2.5 GPA, documented 40 hours of community service and experience in leadership roles in or out of school.
Applications for the 2021 scholarship, available at www.cfgf.org, are due by March 15, 2021.
