A New York City-based nonprofit this week announced recipients for the annual Brandon Hendricks Scholarship, which commemorates the life of the Bronx basketball star who was killed in 2020, just a week after his high school graduation.
The Oyate Group, a nonprofit that aims to alleviate the poverty and increase the financial capital of New Yorkers, launched its Brandon Hendricks Scholarship after the teen’s death in 2020 with the goal of easing economic barriers for college-bound Bronx students.
Brandon Hendricks-Ellison’s name strikes a solemn cord with many Bronxites — especially his family, who remember him as “a great kid, smart, kind, loving,” and “respectful.”
The then- 17-year-old was shot and killed while at a barbecue in June 2020, just before he was set to attend St. John’s University on a basketball scholarship. His funeral three summers ago drew out family, friends, coaches and elected officials — and Hendricks-Ellison has since become something of a community martyr in the fight to end youth gun violence and increase educational opportunities for Bronx students.
Cops arrested Najhim Luke, now 25, for the murder a few weeks later.
This year, Oyate selected two kids for the $5,000 annual scholarship. The group raised the amount of its scholarship fund earlier this year, from a one-time $5,000 award. The award recipients will now receive $20,000 each over four years while in college.
Jennifer Agbanyo, a recent graduate of Preston High School in the East Bronx’s Locust Point neighborhood, is planning on attending SUNY Albany with the hopes of eventually becoming an obstetrician-gynecologist and providing quality health care in the Bronx.
According to Oyate, Agbanyo interned for Rana Abdelhamid during her unsuccessful 2022 run for New York’s 12th Congressional District — canvassing door-to-door and petitioning on the street. The organization also credited Agbanyo with “impressive” community volunteering experience.
From LION Charter School in Hunts Point, Briyant Boakye Frimpong is the other scholarship recipient. The new graduate is planning on studying computer science and economics at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
While in high school, Frimpong was the president of the National Honor Society and spearheaded various community service initiatives, including a clothing drive for homeless people in Hunts Point. And like Hendricks-Ellison, Frimpong was a student-athlete — playing varsity soccer from the time he was a freshman, according to Oyate.
According to Oyate, the nonprofit has awarded more than $100,000 to Bronx students from low income families to date.
Memorial Brandon Hendricks scholarship grows award to $20K for college-bound Bronxites
This article was updated at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 22 to include Briyant Boakye Frimpong’s full name.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
