OSU students awarded Boys Girls Club scholarship

 Two incoming freshmen at Oklahoma State University, Christopher Baldwin and Nakia Smith, have been awarded the W. W. Allen Boys & Girls Club Scholarship, which is worth more than $60,000 each in scholarship, leadership development and enrichment activities.

The W. W. Allen scholarship is a nationally recognized scholarship available to incoming freshmen at OSU. Students must also be members of a Boys & Girls Club with the desire to pursue a career in the engineering industry. The recipients will receive $15,000 annually for up to four years for a Bachelor of Science degree. The award also includes guidance from a professional mentor in OSU’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.

Baldwin, of Bryant, Ark., became a member of the Bryant Boys & Girls Club in third grade. He went on to become the treasurer of the Torch Club, which involved fundraising for the Boys & Girls Club. “I had fun every day,” he said. “As treasurer, I was given my first taste of true responsibility.” 

Baldwin later joined the Boys & Girls Club Leadership Council and Quiz Bowl. In high school, he was an American Cancer Society Junior Ambassador, the wrestling team captain and a four-year letterman in wrestling.

Baldwin will bring his passion for math and natural science to OSU’s aerospace engineering department in the fall. “I have fallen in love with sketching and drawing and refining and building and testing and repeating,” Baldwin said. 

Smith, from Bartlesville, Okla., joined the Boys & Girls Club when she was 5 years old. She became a member of the Keystone Club in 2012 and eventually served as its president. Keystone is a Boys & Girls Club organization focused on academic excellence, career preparation and community service. While attending Bartlesville High School, Smith was a member of the National Honor Society and student council. She was named the Boys & Girls Club Oklahoma Youth of the Year for 2014. 

“The Boys & Girls Club always pushed me to be a leader and challenged me academically, which has allowed me much success,” Smith said. “They invested in me before I was invested in myself, and because of their consistent support I’ve been able to show others that it’s OK to dream big, take charge and choose not to be another statistic.” 

Nakia Smith

Smith credits what she calls her  “engineer’s mind,” for her decision to major in chemical engineering when she starts OSU in the fall. “I realized a chemical engineering degree would open many doors,” she said. “I’m fortunate to have a major oil company’s research and development group in my hometown. I could certainly see myself transitioning into a career with ConocoPhillips.”

A donation from W. W. Allen, the retired CEO and chairman of the Phillips Petroleum Company, funds the scholarship. Allen was once a member of the Boys & Girls Club in Ft. Smith, Ark., and previously a member of the National Advisory Board. He credits the Boys & Girls Club with providing him an opportunity for personal growth.   

Story by Kim Hunter