Who Can Apply:
- Michaella Neal was a beloved mother, daughter, sister, teacher, coach, counselor, mentor, and friend who was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.
- Michaella spent her career working in New Orleans and Kansas City schools, where she taught, coached, and counseled at Mercy Academy, De La Salle High School, Loyola University, and Ursuline Academy. Michaella was a staunch advocate for justice and service to others – virtues she worked tirelessly to instill in her students. She led by example, volunteering her time to a variety of causes that furthered those virtues, including supporting mental health and serving people living in poverty.
- In 2020, Michaella was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic, pancreatic cancer. She was initially told she had just four to six months to live, but she ended up fighting back against the disease for more than four and a half years. During much of her fight, she continued to work because she fiercely believed in helping her students succeed.
- This scholarship aims to honor the life of Michaella Neal so that future generations of students can know and understand the amazing educator and person that she was.
- Any high school senior from a New Orleans-based Catholic high school (Academy of the Sacred Heart, Brother Martin, Cabrini High School, Holy Cross School, Jesuit High School, Mount Carmel Academy, St. Augustine High School, St. Mary’s Academy, St. Mary’s Dominican High School, or Ursuline Academy) may apply for this scholarship opportunity. Before she passed, Michaella was involved in conceiving this scholarship, and she insisted that the most important qualification should be someone with a heart for service, and an intention to major in a “helping” profession.
Submission: Please respond to TWO of the following four prompts in 400-600 words each:
1. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
2. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
3. What is the best advice you have ever gotten, who told you it, and explain whether or not you followed the advice.
4. Talk about a personal accomplishment that is unrelated to academics, but that means a lot to you.
Deadline: June 29, 2025
Amount: $1,500
Learn More: https://bold.org/scholarships/michaella-neal-memorial-scholarship/
