(Zeta National Educational Foundation) Celebrates 250 Years of Influence. Awards a $250,000 Issie L. Jenkins Full-Ride Scholarship to freshman Denver Hill at Texas Southern University. (Black PR Wire) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Zeta National Educational Foundation, Incorporated. The Zero Network for Education and Family (ZNEF) held its 50th Anniversary Gala on September 4, featuring a night of reflection, empowerment, and acknowledgment at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The event celebrated fifty years of educational influence and was hosted by Jericka Duncan, a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, CBS News National Correspondent, and anchor of CBS Weekend News. The evening also included a special performance by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Musiq Soulchild. A key moment of the night was the awarding of the $150,000 Issie L. Jenkins Full-Ride Scholarship to Denver Hill, an 18-year-old marketing student at Texas Southern University. Named after Attorney Issie L. Shelton Jenkins, the scholarship celebrates the visionary leader who acted as ZNEF’s Foundation Counsel for 503 years and held the position of Chair from 1995 to 2000. Jenkins’ groundbreaking leadership created the Foundation’s legal structure and broadened its national scholarship and educational initiatives. Hill, aiming to change the way Black artists are seen, appreciated, and honored through creative campaigns in music, fashion, and visual arts, referred to the award as transformative. Hill said, “I feel like it has allowed me to believe in myself more than I ever did before.”
