The Rebecca Basena Kampi Memorial Current-Use Scholarship will provide scholarships for undergraduate students in the College Park Scholars program (with a preference for Public Leadership students) who demonstrate academic excellence and an interest in expanding their professional and academic aspirations as an agent of social change through their community or public service work.
The Rebecca Basena Kampi Memorial Scholarship was established in December 2020 in honor of Rebecca Nicole Basena Kampi who passed away in 2018.
Rebecca graduated from the University of Maryland in 2015. While at UMD, she was in the College Park Scholars Public Leadership program and earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Marketing.
A resident of Columbia, Maryland, Rebecca had a deep desire to make a difference in her community to empower and better the lives of others especially for those from marginalized backgrounds or communities. Rebecca’s deepest impact is best reflected in those who were lucky to have known her or been impacted by her throughout her short life. She mentored and inspired everyone around her. She was quick to make friends wherever she went and had the ability to unite people she met to create and promote a cohesive group working towards a common goal. Whether it was raising funds for the children in the vulnerable communities of the Darfur region in South Sudan, volunteering at her former high school to help students with their resumes and mock interviews to prepare for college, or working to guide and support interns and team members through her work at the Climate Reality Project and then at the Center for American Progress, Rebecca aspired to do her best to engage others to make a difference.
Rebecca was compassionate, caring, and often found ways of uplifting the spirits of those around her. She smiled with energy, laughed generously, and loved to empower anyone facing self-doubt. Her positivity and incessant desire to encourage others to be their best or always have a positive outlook on life were coined through her favorite mantras; “Don’t be Salty” and “Live your Best Life.”
Nicknamed “Sunshine,” her infectious smile lit the room and any dark places in any soul. She was simply magnetic.
For her family, friends, and all those she met, Rebecca changed our lives for the better, and it is the family's hope that, through this scholarship, future Scholars who embody her passions are given the same opportunity to change lives as she did.