BOISE, Idaho — The College of Idaho hosted CEOs and top private state employers to announce it's new partnership to benefit underserved and historically underrepresented students, and it's named after one of the most famous Yotes.
C of I formally announced the Elgin and Elaine Baylor Opportunity fund that aims to help 44 students with financial needs from under-served populations with a full tuition scholarship to the College of Idaho.
Elaine Baylor, wife of the late NBA star Elgin Baylor wants to provide opportunities to diverse students who might not be able to afford an education -- just like the opportunity her husband got at the College of Idaho.
“He would be pleased without words,” said Elaine Baylor, Wife of the late Elgin Baylor.
Elgin Baylor attended the College of Idaho on an athletic scholarship in 1954, a decade before the civil rights act, playing for one of the few desegregated college basketball teams in the nation and setting the stage for his hall-of-fame NBA career.
“I'm darn proud to be associated with an organization that did that and continues to do that for students that just need an opportunity,” said Jim Everett, College of Idaho Co-President.
“In his honor, we are creating this scholarship just to open doors of opportunities to students,” continued Everett.
Nimo Abdi is the first recipient of the new scholarship. She migrated with her family from Somalia and she'll use the opportunity to pursue a career in microbiology.
“I felt like the College of Idaho was just a place for me, really. And a place where I was not only learning about the world but surrounded by people of the world because of people from so many places,” said Nimo Abdi, the first recipient of the Baylor Opportunity Fund.
The College of Idaho is currently taking donations toward the Baylor fund for underserved students in Idaho and nationwide.
