A Prestige Scholarship for Oregon Black Women

Serah Judd, a sophomore at Howard University, is the third named winner of the Avel Louise Gordly Scholarship for Oregon Black Women. Judd received a $3,500 scholarship, renewable to support four years of higher education. Serah Judd graduated from Beaverton International High School in 2024, where she was active in the Black Student Union. Her leadership earned her a spot as the student member of the Oregon Department of Education’s Black Success Committee. At Howard, Judd has embraced numerous opportunities to grow as a student and to serve her community. 

She wants to attend law school and eventually become a judge. The Black Women in Pre-Law Society has helped Judd connect with like-minded students. She is also a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Council and serves as a Junior Resident Assistant, positions that focus on solving problems on campus and in student life. In Washington, D.C., her volunteer activities include playing violin in a local church orchestra as well as serving meals to those in need. “Emerging as a leader among leaders has taught me a love of responsibility and an unyielding dedication to the well-being of others,” Judd wrote in her application. “I will dedicate the rest of my life to helping people, as a leader against any odds.” Serah Judd is one of three siblings in a hard-working, single-parent family for whom paying for college is a challenge. The committee was impressed with Judd’s clarity of vision for herself balanced with compassion for others. “We were unanimous that Serah was the top candidate from a strong pool,” noted award committee chair Carmen Thompson.” The Avel Louise Gordly Scholarship provides four years of financial support to a Black female graduate of an Oregon high school. 

Funds can be used at any institution of higher education in the state or at any of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. Students apply every year through the StudentAid.Gov website. More information for students is available at the Scholarship Blog. The scholarship, housed with the Oregon Community Foundation, is still raising money toward its $1MM goal. Donations are welcome online at www.oregoncf.org/gordly-scholarship or by check to OCF, 1221 SW Yamhill Street, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97205.

Avel Gordly was born in Portland and graduated from Girls Polytechnic High School and then Portland State University. She held positions in the Oregon Department of Corrections, the Urban League of Portland, and the American Friends Service Committee. She was a leader within the Black United Front, a group that pushed for Oregon’s divestment from Apartheid and for reform within Portland Public Schools. In 1996, Gordly became the first Black woman elected to the Oregon State Senate, representing NE Portland. The Gordly Center for Healing at Oregon Health and Sciences University was established to provide culturally competent mental health care to diverse patients in recognition of Gordly’s work on this issue. In 2011, she published a memoir Remembering the Power of Words: The Life of an Oregon Activist, Legislator, and Community Leader with OSU press. Among her numerous honors and recognitions, Gordly was awarded an honorary doctorate from PSU in 2017.