Scholarship launched to support students pursuing careers in finance, banking

By Makenna Mincey
Contributing Writer

As part of a larger initiative to empower communities, First Horizon Corp. has announced the launch of an endowed scholarship in partnership with Xavier University of Louisiana to support students interested in pursuing careers in banking and finance.

The First Horizon Bank Endowed Scholarship, which will be housed at Xavier, will be awarded annually to a Xavier student pursuing a future in the finance and banking field.

“By helping to offset the costs associated with higher education, this scholarship allows a student to focus on their goals while gaining essential financial education and career development skills,” said a spokesperson from First Horizon. “Together, we are investing in the next generation of leaders who will positively shape our communities.”

For First Horizon, which operates banks in 12 states across the South, including Louisiana, this partnership is an investment in the future sustainability of local communities. The scholarship is part of an educational initiative that seeks to equip students with the tools needed to build up communities. The company will also offer professional development, career opportunities, and financial education programming to students that aligns with their current curriculum as part of the partnership.

An initial investment of $25,000 has been provided by First Horizon to establish the fund, but anyone can make contributions to grow the endowment. The fund is managed and administered by Xavier University.

First Horizon believes supporting students pursuing careers in banking and finance will have a ripple effect, ultimately helping communities become more financially educated and literate.

Currently, 79 percent of students enrolled at Xavier University identify as African American/Black, and 40 percent are from Louisiana. Despite economic gains for African Americans, the typical white family carries 10 times more wealth than the typical Black household. Financial organizations are working to close the racial wealth gap through financial literacy and expanding opportunities for finance professionals from minority communities.

“Financial education is important because it’s usually the downfall for a lot of people, especially those in the Black community,” said Darius Mullen, a business-finance major from Georgia, who attends Xavier. “The lack of financial education leads to more debt, limits opportunities in life such as property ownership, and forces some to work paycheck to paycheck simply just trying to get by.”

Endowed scholarships like this already exist at Florida International University for first-generation business students and at LeMoyne-Owen College. This partnership joins 19 others Xavier currently has with organizations like Ochsner Health System and Google-in-Residence Program, to prepare students who can be future professionals to bridge racial gaps in specific corporate sectors.

“This gift for our business students and this partnership to advance their career preparation in banking and finance, specifically in AI and tech, promises exponential growth for our scholars, namely those who choose to build their futures in New Orleans and across Louisiana,” said Phillip Adams, Xavier’s vice president of Institutional Advancement. “At Xavier, we are proud to offer transformative experiences that shape our young leaders into change-makers across industries.”

Mullen said he was thrilled to see what partnerships like these can do to move more students like him into banking, investment and financial planning careers.

“I think the partnership will be highly beneficial for business students. We are forced many times to be in professional settings that will help us advance in our careers, so having the tools to do so from a well-respected company will give us students better insight into what similar companies are looking for in a valued worker,” Mullen said.

“The more financially independent people we have in our community, the more likely our environment will improve, and we can all have more advanced economic wealth,” Mullen said.

For more information about donating to or applying for the First Horizon Bank Endowed Scholarship, contact Xavier University of Louisiana’s Office of Institutional Advancement at 504-520-5279 or email Brett Evans at sevans15@xula.edu.

This article originally published in the January 27, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.