Samantha A. Wilkins Receives Howard University’s Reginald F. Lewis
Foundation Scholar Prize

WASHINGTON (May 8, 2010) – Today, Samantha Wilkins, a talented anddynamic student, will be awarded the competitive Reginald F. Lewis Foundation Scholar Prize. The $10,000 prize is awarded to the undergraduate student whose cumulative grade point average demonstrates the highest increase between the sophomore and senior years.

In 1990, the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, Inc. established the Howard University Reginald F. Lewis Fund to support various student and faculty enrichment academic activities.
A cornerstone of the innovative initiative is the Reginald F. Lewis Scholar Prize. The University President bestows the award during the Commencement exercise to a graduating senior, selected from the University’s undergraduate population, whose record reflects the
highest degree of academic progress.

Wilkins is set to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, with a concentration in photography and art history, in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Fine Arts. After graduation, she intends to work for a year while building her portfolio. She then intends to pursue graduate education to obtain a Master of Fine Arts.

She arrived at Howard University in the fall of 2005. Since then, Wilkins has had an extraordinarily busy life, balancing her academic pursuits with internships and part-time employment at various art galleries and studios including the Atlantis Gallery, Michael Platt Studio, and Revolutionary Performance Management. She is a recipient of several honors and awards, including being a participant in the 2010 Bloomingdales Student Exhibition, receiving the second place 2010 Undergraduate Fashion Award at the 79th Annual Howard University Art Students Exhibition, and the first place Undergraduate Fashion Award at the same exhibition in 2009.

Ms. Wilkins is a native of Belleville, Illinois. Her parents, William and Gertrude Wilkins will be attending the Commencement exercises.