Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Aug. 24, 2025 – A Jonesboro fraternity celebrated not only the success of local students on Saturday, but also highlighted those who make a difference in the community.
At Saturday’s banquet, two Jonesboro High School students, Markiece Stafford and Roman Kierra Hart were honored as recipients of the 2025 J.W. Mason Academic Achievement Scholarships, which awards $1,000 to seniors who “exemplify leadership and service.”
The Nu Tau Sigma chapter of Phi Beta Sigma hosted its second annual Blue Brunch Experience at the Cooper Alumni Center Saturday. The event was complete with food, music, prayer, and a silent auction.
Markiece will be attending classes at the Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO, majoring in business. Aisha Stafford, Markiece’s mother, said he has been interested in entrepreneurship and business administration, but he’s hoping to get a main goal narrowed down.
(From left) Al Moore, second vice president/scholarship committee chair, scholarship recipient Roman Kierra Hart and L.C. Kennedy Jr., scholarship co-chair/fundraising committee chair. (Source: L.C. Kennedy Jr.) 
(From left) Al Moore, second vice president/scholarship committee chair, scholarship recipient Markiece Stafford and L.C. Kennedy Jr., scholarship co-chair/fundraising committee chair. (Source: L.C. Kennedy Jr.)
When asked about what she’s most excited about regarding Markiece’s educational journey, Aisha said getting the degree would be number one, as he has had to balance being a football player and a student.
“He’s the youngest of five boys, and so when he receives his degree, he’ll be the first of my children to receive his college degree, so they’ll be excited,” Aisha said.
Meanwhile, Roman will be attending Elon University in Elon, NC, pursuing two degrees at the same time: a bachelor’s in international business and a master’s in business analytics. His goal is to work in European football.
Roman’s mother, Melinda Hart, said she is extremely grateful for Phi Beta Sigma providing this resource, helping lessen a financial burden for Roman.
“All the hard work that he’s put in over the years with his community service or his grades and just serving in his community, it’s finally paid off, and being able to receive the scholarship was very helpful for our family as well,” Melinda said.
To be eligible, Markiece and Roman were required to submit an essay, with this year’s topic being the importance of resiliency and honoring culture.
The fraternity added “community awards” to the event’s subtitle this year.
Al Moore, second vice president of the chapter and scholarship committee chair, said those who attended last year’s banquet were not aware that an award ceremony was going to happen. Moore called the change “intentional.”
“What we wanted to do is just make sure we’re being intentional about acknowledging people who we knew were doing work but just weren’t being acknowledged. Some people who are in particular spaces where they might be the only one doing that type of work, we were going to honor them,” Moore said.
Several people received awards at the event, who are listed below:
- Dr. Dwayne Scott Outstanding Undergrad Award – Elchristma “Cosmo” Deveaux
- Jeanette Strong Zeta Impact Award – Soror Diamond Watson
- Nu Tau Sigma Small Business Champion Award – Bianca Palmer (SHE Inc.)
- Nu Tau Sigma Small Business Champion Award – Andrew Daley (EJJI Studios)
- Nu Tau Sigma Business Community Champion Award – Gamble Home Furnishings
- Nu Tau Sigma Community Champion of the Year – Sonya Sanders
The event was originally going to be held in April. However, due to the fraternity’s state meeting being too close to the planned date, it was moved to August. The plan next year is to hold it again in the spring.
The idea of the event, Moore said, came about due to the rising cost of education, particularly in underserved communities. Moore explained that many are still struggling with finances years after graduating.
“A lot of us within our chapter and within the fraternity are first generation college students who had a rough go just getting into college and getting it paid for, and then, as we were, straight into graduate members 20 years later, still saddled with debt from undergrad,” Moore said.
With this event, Moore wanted to make sure that while the cost can be daunting, it shouldn’t take away from the value of a college experience, with a degree going hand in hand with the network and community you build.
“For me, that was one of the more beneficial parts of college was just the people that I met. You find yourself very lucky 20 years later, kind of relying on some of those relationships,” Moore said.
