The Power of One

WLaShelle Williams-Franklinhen LaShelle Williams-Franklin arrived at Howard University as a first-generation college student from Cleveland, Ohio, she had her academic plan perfectly mapped out. As a political science major with dreams of becoming an attorney, she received her four-year academic roadmap during orientation. What she didn’t have was a financial roadmap - or any way to pay for her education.

“I had no financial aid packet, no 529 plan, no savings, nothing,” Williams-Franklin recalls in an interview with Diverse. “My parents were young parents who never had the opportunity to attend college before I began my own college journey. They pressed upon me the importance of education, but we didn’t know about the financial piece that accompanies going to college.”

Rather than give up on her dreams, Williams-Franklin made an audacious decision. She would stay and unofficially audit classes, hoping to find a way to pay for her education. “One week turned into two weeks, two weeks turned into a month, and a month turned into a semester,” she remembers.
What followed was a four-year journey of determination and grit. Kicked out of university housing, Williams-Franklin worked three jobs to afford a place to live while continuing to attend classes without being officially enrolled. She followed her academic plan religiously, taking tests and completing assignments, all while carrying the weight of her secret.

“I was protecting my dream,” she says. “I felt if I shared it with anybody, it would be so obvious that I needed to just go home, regroup, figure this out. But that was not in my spirit.”

At the end of her fourth year, watching her peers prepare for graduation, Williams-Franklin finally shared her story through letters to everyone in her sphere of influence. One of those letters reached the late Congressman Louis Stokes, who had previously employed her as an intern. Moved by her determination, Stokes did something extraordinary - he arranged to have Williams-Franklin’s entire four years of education paid for retroactively.

“It’s the power of one,” Williams-Franklin reflects. “How one person can create this ripple effect in your life beyond what you can even dream.” That experience became the catalyst for the Williams-Franklin Foundation, established in 2014 to support HBCU students facing similar financial barriers.

The foundation’s approach goes far beyond traditional scholarship programs. While it awards 20-25 renewable scholarships annually ranging from $5,000 to $6,000 each, its support system is comprehensive and holistic.