Students admitted to the UAB Honors College are eager to enhance their academicYancey Williams II was awarded the Jo Anne J. Trow Undergraduate Scholarship from the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society journey by participating in various activities, including community service, research projects, and leadership positions. Through these opportunities, students often receive prestigious accolades and scholarships. Yancey Williams II is one of those honors students.

Yancey Williams II, junior, was awarded a $1,000 Jo Anne J. Trow Undergraduate Scholarship from Alpha Lambda Delta, the Honor Society for First-Year Academic Success. Williams is one of 50 recipients across the country selected to receive the award. Recipients are selected based on their academic achievements, campus and community service activities, participation in Alpha Lambda Delta opportunities, essay answers from their scholarship application, as well as maintaining a least a 3.5 grade point average.

The scholarship will help Williams further his current studies in biomedical engineering from the UAB School of Engineering. “The additional funds would not only help me excel academically at UAB, but it will also help ease my parents’ minds that I will able to attend college without any concern about paying for my education,” said Williams. 

As a 2020 Alpha Lambda Delta inductee, he used the honor society as an opportunity to connect with other young adults who have different career paths but share the same drive to be successful in life. “During the ALD induction, I met my peers with who I would be spending the next four years with, and we shared experiences about being a new student in a new institution.”

“Yancey’s impressive scholastic achievements, and outstanding leadership and campus involvement, made him the perfect candidate to receive this esteemed scholarship award,” said Shannon L. Blanton, Ph.D., dean of the UAB Honors College. “He is a bright and ambitious student with a desire to change the world through his willingness to help others succeed. It is a pleasure having Yancey in the UAB Honors College, and I know other students, faculty, and staff who have crossed paths with him feel the same.”

Throughout his undergraduate career at UAB, Williams has participated in various organizations on campus including the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) as the chapter vice president and Blazer Male Excellence Network (BMEN) as a peer mentor. As vice president of BMES, he is responsible for circulating information about BMES activities throughout the semester to assist the elected Executive Board. BMEN is a program that provides African American students with resources via mentors to enable others to achieve educational and life goals.

Not only has he served in multiple organizations at UAB, but also within the Honors College. “Yancey has proven to be an incredibly kind, professional, and dependable student leader and is a huge asset to the Honors College,” said Ashleigh Johnson, Honors Counselor II. “He has served on the Honors College Leadership Council for two years as an at-large member on the Professional Development Committee and as a Communications Co-Chair for the Science and Technology Committee, respectively. Through his latest appointment, he has helped find ways to collaborate with other offices on campus, like the Career Center and Student Multicultural and Diversity Programs to help educate and bring information back to the Honors College. These experiences have taught him to listen to his peers and engage others.”

After his impending graduation in 2023, he plans to continue his education to become a successful physician-scientist in the field of regenerative medicine by receiving an M.D. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. “I am thankful to everyone in the ALD society, as well as UAB, and when I graduate from the UAB, I will give back to this program to make sure that other capable students have the tools necessary to accomplish their goals in life,” Williams said.

For more information about Alpha Lambda Delta, visit https://www.nationalald.org/.