College student from Pearland wins Disney UNCF Corporate Scholarship

PEARLAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A college student from Pearland is among 28 scholarship winners nationwide to be selected as a Disney UNCF Corporate Scholar.

For nearly 10 years, Disney and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) have collaborated to award scholarships to high-achieving and talented students across the country. Kaily Kuykendall was recently awarded a $5,000 renewable scholarship through the Disney UNCF Corporate Scholars program. As a Disney Enhanced Corporate Scholar, she will also intern in Human resources at Disney, plus receive mentorship and professional development opportunities through the company.

"I was super excited," said Kuykendall. "I mean, Disney has been a dream company of mine, and the fact that they partnered with UNCF is really amazing."

She is currently a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., one of the oldest historically black universities in the United States.

"I really wanted to attend a HBCU because I wanted to be able to study and learn around different people from my culture, but also different cultural backgrounds as well," said Kuykendall. "Just that experience has opened up so many different doors and opportunities that I wouldn't typically be able to have."

She is majoring in Political Science and has a goal of attending law school once she graduates.

"Wanting to go into corporate law, I think being able to work hands-on in a corporation like Disney will provide me a great deal of experience that will really pay off in the future," she said.

This year's Disney UNCF Corporate Scholars cohort includes 28 students who were awarded scholarships from Disney, National Geographic, FX and ESPN's Andscape. The Disney UNCF Corporate Scholars program is part of the Disney Future Storytellers initiative, the company's commitment to empowering the next generation of storytellers and innovators.

Disney is the parent company of ABC13.