Diverse established the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Awards to honor undergraduate students of color who best exemplify academic and athletic achievement and humanitarianism and honored its 2014 winners earlier this month.
Because they are scholars and athletes, winners of the Arthur Ashe Award have multiple choices after they graduate. Some find a place in professional athletics. Russell Wilson, a 2011 winner from North Carolina State University, led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl win in February. Kara Lawson, a 2003 honoree from the University of Tennessee, has found success on and off the court as a WNBA player for the Connecticut Sun and, during the offseason, as a basketball analyst for ESPN.
Diverse checks in on three of its Arthur Ashe Award winners — Randal Pinkett, DeCarol Davis and Isaac Matthews — who have gone on to apply their technical skills and knowledge to the areas of business, national service and manufacturing.
Dr. Randal Pinkett
Rutgers University, 1993
Pinkett, a Rhodes Scholar who has a Ph.D. from MIT in electrical engineering, is growing BCT Partners in Newark, N.J., by merging with a New York City firm, expanding into new markets and services and building up business with the federal government.
