Anmer Ayala, a Montgomery College graduate enrolled in the University of Baltimore’s (UB) health systems management degree program at the University System of Maryland’s Shady Grove campus, has been awarded the Camille and Clifford Kendall Endowed Scholarship. He will receive full tuition remission and be mentored by Tina Di Franco, executive director of UB’s School of Health and Human Services. Ayala is the first student in this program to be awarded the scholarship.
“I am proud to say that I am the only one in my family to have broken three cycles,” Ayala said. “I became the first to graduate high school at Gaithersburg High. I became the first to go to a community college and graduate with my associate’s degree at Montgomery College. Now, I am the first to go to a university, the University of Baltimore at the Universities at Shady Grove.”
Ayala, who said he plans to continue his education with a master’s degree, added, “My dream is to have my own career as a health care administrator, as my passion is to care for others, making a difference to those in need, and to be a role model for my family and my community.”
Clifford Kendall, a member of the Shady Grove Board of Advisors, and his wife Camille Kendall have established a fund through the USM Foundation to provide multiple need-based scholarships for full-time students enrolled in various programs at Shady Grove.
The program specifies that scholarship recipients receive not only financial support, but also the academic and professional support needed to become successful in all areas of life.
A mentoring program was established in 2008; as “Kendall Scholars,” students in their junior and senior year participate in mentoring relationships that are specific to the transfer needs of their respective classes.