Each year, the Michael O.D. Brown Memorial Scholarship honors the life and legacy of Mike Brown by investing in the next generation of leaders. It is more than a scholarship; it is a belief in the potential and purpose of young people who are working toward a more just and hopeful future.
This year holds special meaning. Mike would have celebrated his 30th birthday in 2026. In his honor, we expanded the class to 30 scholarship awardees—the largest in the program’s history—and set out to support 30 young people whose talent, vision, and drive reflect the future the Foundation is working to build.
We found them.
Lezley McSpadden built this Foundation on her son’s legacy, and she continues to build it one student at a time. Fifteen students received scholarships in 2024. Eighteen received them in 2025. For the 2025–26 school year, in partnership with Campaign Zero, we are proud to name thirty awardees, each receiving $3,000 toward their education as they pursue their passions in social justice, the performing arts, and the trades.
They come from schools across St. Louis City and County, each bringing distinct talents and ambitions for the future.Their determination, creativity, and commitment keep Mike’s legacy in motion.
Meet the 2025–26 Michael O.D. Brown Memorial Scholarship Awardees:
- Naomi Meliane Rush Adou Gbougbo – Parkway South High School
- Kennedy Q.J. Bailey – Hazelwood East High School
- Marrione Barnes – Hazelwood East High School
- Nylah Beathea-Chatman – Hazelwood West High School
- Kevin Dominic Brown – Central Visual and Performing Arts High School
- Deshon Burks – Clayton High School
- Addyson Butler – Ladue Horton Watkins High School
- Romell D. Calhoun – Sumner High School
- Davion Davis – University City High School
- Jalen Dennis – STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley
- Jamaria Greer – Riverview Gardens High School
- Jamar Lee Henderson, Jr. – Ladue Horton Watkins High School
- Cleo (Qixi) Huang – Clayton High School
- G’yanne Andrea Johnson – Riverview Gardens High School
- Lia Lichtman – Parkway Central High School
- Hannah W. Maina – Hazelwood West High School
- MacKenzie Maldon – University City High School
- Madison Miller – Ritenour High School
- Mariah Tianna Mosley – Jennings Senior High School
- Rondre Phillips – Sumner High School
- Damaiya Riddle – Normandy High School
- Akira Robinson – University City High School
- Kara Sampson – Ritenour High School
- Jordan Spearman – University City High School
- Ndeye Thiam – University City High School
- Jocelyn Turner – Central Visual and Performing Arts High School
- Jocelyn Watford – Ritenour High School
- Malani Westbrook – University City High School
- Kaden C. Williams – Webster Groves High School
- Tailur Winston – Hazelwood Central High School
With this class, the Michael O.D. Brown Memorial Scholarship has now supported 63 students across three award cycles.
A Night to Celebrate Them
On Friday, May 29, the awardees and their families joined us at Barnett on Washington in St. Louis for an evening centered entirely on them—their accomplishments, their families, and the futures ahead of them.
Families arrived ready to celebrate. Cameras captured the moment. One by one, all 30 names were read aloud.
Watch the Recap
The Support Doesn’t Stop at the Ceremony
The scholarship is the beginning, not the end. During August and September, dorm-ready care packages will be delivered to awardees at their schools, helping ensure that each student begins this new chapter knowing their community is still behind them long after the dinner is over.
This fall, at the beginning of the school year, the Foundation will launch the 2026–27 scholarship cycle. It will mark the program’s fourth year, with the goal of expanding the scholarship class again.
We believe in these 30 scholars and in everything they are preparing to build.
Congratulations to the 2025–26 Michael O.D. Brown Memorial Scholarship awardees.
About the Michael O.D. Brown Memorial Scholarship
The Michael O.D. Brown Memorial Scholarship honors Mike’s life and legacy by investing in young people who are building something greater than themselves. An initiative of the Michael O.D. Brown We Love Our Sons & Daughters Foundation, with support from Campaign Zero, the scholarship supports graduating high school seniors from the St. Louis region pursuing trade programs, associate degrees, or bachelor’s degrees, particularly in social justice, the performing arts, and skilled trades. Recipients are selected based on academic achievement, community service, and a demonstrated commitment to making a meaningful impact.
Through this work, the scholarship carries forward the values Mike’s life continues to represent—justice, education, family, and opportunity—and keeps his legacy alive not only in memory, but in motion.