The John Berry Meachum Scholarship is named in honor of the achievements of John Berry Meachum (1789-1854) a pastor, businessman, educator, and founder of the oldest black church in Missouri. He was born into slavery, but at the age of 21 he purchased his freedom.
Meachum dedicated much of his life to the pursuit of educational opportunities for black people in St. Louis. He circumvented a Missouri state law that banned education for black people by creating the Floating Freedom School on a steamboat in the Mississippi River, which was outside the law’s jurisdiction. After the Civil War, he founded the Lincoln Institute; the first school in Missouri to provide for the higher education of black students.
The 2020 criteria for the scholarship are financial need, School of Medicine involvement, compelling rationale and one letter of support from a Saint Louis University faculty or senior staff member. If you are interested in receiving this scholarship please write a short note stating your reason for applying and obtain one letter of support from a faculty or senior staff member by September 30, 2020. Students who have already received the maximum amount of aid, including loans, for the current academic year will have their loans reduced to accommodate this award.
John Berry Meachum Scholarship Recipient
Second-year Medical Student
Past Scholarship Recipients
Aaron Dotson
Fourth-year Medical Student
Tajhshea Walden
Second-year Medical Student