Florida State University hosted a celebration banquet for students and others from the Unconquered Scholars Program, which serves those who have experienced homelessness, foster care, relative care or ward of the State status.

The annual banquet, held last week in a Student Union ballroom, honored the upcoming graduating class of 38 Unconquered Scholars and featured two keynote speakers who reflected on how the program helped them find community and a support system essential to their success.

“We love the chance to celebrate the hard work, resiliency and talents of this special group of FSU students,” said Lisa Jackson, senior program director. “Unconquered Scholars come to FSU after experiencing challenging life circumstances, and our job is to ensure they thrive while they’re here and graduate well-prepared to reach their future dreams and goals.”

Keynote speaker Marcus Williams, a graduating senior majoring in interdisciplinary social sciences with concentrations in sociology and history, described some difficult experiences from childhood, such as multiple moves and the brief absence of a close family member, and contrasted that time with the comfort and stability of the FSU college experience.

“College was the chapter that I felt free – free from poverty, homelessness, pain,” said Williams, who serves as the Pride Student Union Center director and Golden Torch Lecture Series vice chair. “Unconquered was the home away from home because they supported me through any and everything.”

The Unconquered Scholars Program has served more than 300 students since its inception in 2012 and operates as a unit within the Center for Academic Retention & Enhancement, or CARE. CARE provides opportunity and access to those with identities traditionally underrepresented in higher education, such as Pell Grant recipients and first-generation college students.

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