First Marian Spencer Scholar graduates during UC’s Spring Commencement

Katelyn Cotton, a political science major, became the first student in the Marian Spencer Scholarship program, to graduate from the University of Cincinnati during last week’s Spring Commencement.

She will be back at UC in the fall to finish a master’s in political science and hopes to then enter law school. Cotton is a graduate of Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati.

“So, I am hoping once I get to law school I will be able to try different things and figure out what fits me the best,” explains Cotton during a segment with WLWT. “My current hopes and dreams for that situation are something large scale, whether it’s international or something big business related.  I want to do something big and that could be from here in Cincinnati or it could be from somewhere else.”

The Marian Spencer Scholarship was first announced in fall 2021 and made possible by an alumni donation and university investment. The scholarship not only includes full tuition and room and board but also offers a service abroad trip to Tanzania and many more opportunities. It’s designed for high-achieving graduates of Cincinnati Public Schools.

During their first year, Spencer Scholars form a living-learning community, housed together in Marian Spencer Hall on campus.

Marian Spencer, a Cincinnati civil rights icon, is a UC alumna who was instrumental in desegregating Cincinnati’s Coney Island as well as Cincinnati Public Schools. She went on to become the first African American woman elected to Cincinnati City Council in 1983.

“It means a lot to be part of the Marian Spencer Scholarship because I know through my family’s history and the history of the city that the civil rights movement here is strong,”  Cotton says.

Listen to the WLWT story online.

Learn more about Katelyn Cotton at UC.

Featured top image of UC President Neville Pinto congratulating Katelyn Cotton during commencement. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.