Kenneth White III, a senior mass communications major from St. Louis, Missouri, is an inaugural recipient of the Youth Social Justice Advocate Scholarship through the Urban Community Education Network & Training Center (UCEN). The $500 scholarship for the 2025- 26 academic year honors students committed to addressing urgent issues such as community gun violence prevention and youth engagement. It also includes a leadership commitment to develop and implement a youth-focused social justice project that will impact both the campus and surrounding communities.
White became an ardent advocate of gun violence prevention after losing his father and a cousin in two separate shootings. White’s commitment intensified after he was shot six times and miraculously survived the attack.
“After the shooting and the deaths of my family members, I was involved in organizing a march to increase the awareness of gun violence,” White said. “The march attracted more than 700 participants. I established a non-profit social justice organization after the march – Movement Not Moment – that focuses on ending gun violence in St. Louis.
It was a chance event that placed White on his path to
