BRCWRT 2025 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

KIRAH YOUNG

By John Carter

Freedman’s Village: More Than Just A Historical Footnote

The winner of the 2025 Bull Run Civil War Round Table’s $2,000 Scholarship is

Kirah Young, an exceptional young lady who has completed a remarkable educational

career at Charles J. Colgan Senior High School in Manassas. A review of her applica-

tion and high school transcripts immediately made her a finalist to be considered for

the scholarship, and it was her essay, along with her interview with the committee,

that separated her from the other applicants. Kirah answered our questions with an

ease that suggested they were already anticipated, and they were not short but am-

plified in their nature. We always close the interview by asking the applicant if they

have any questions for us. Most did, but they generally were not noteworthy. Kirah,

on the other hand, asked what the Round Table received by giving her a scholarship.

More important that the numbers and the words on the pages was how Kirah

emerged throughout the process as a person of exceptional focus and motivation to

be a compassionate advocate. Not to become one in the future, but who is one now.

Her focus is to serve and to elevate people around her. Perhaps that began at home

where she grew up with two siblings who have disabilities. Maybe that’s why she took

three years of American Sign Language, volunteered to read stories to children, why

she will major in Communications Sciences and Disorders and become a Speech-

Language Pathologist to be able to help children with speech disorders. Her applica-

tion and resume are a map of who she is now and where she is going.

Kirah Young with her father, Vincent Miller, and John Carter, Scholarship Committee

Kirah’s AP World History teacher commented that “Kirah has distinguished her-

self as one of the most exceptional students I have had the privilege of working with

in my career … Kirah is not only academically accomplished but also deeply committed

to the values of social justice, compassion, and community.” She has maintained a

3.529 grade point average in an advanced studies program which included six AP

courses. Kirah chose to write her scholarship essay on “Freedman’s Village: More

Than Just a Historical Footnote.” It is an interesting selection, as it not one of the tra-

ditional Civil War or slavery topics we usually see from our applicants, to discuss the

effects of the war on a newly developing community of freemen. A “historical foot-

note” implies that it has not been a major historical topic for many people, and it is

only mentioned in passing in the footnotes. For Kirah, however, it is at the core of

who she is and how she reaches out to others. In her essay, she notes that the Freed-

man’s Village was not merely a refuge, but was about defining freedom itself -

“freedom was no longer just an abstract declaration, but a lived experience anchored

in education, employment, and self-government.”

Kirah’s high school career, inside and outside the school, is a testament to her

essay. Her course selection, leadership roles, and activities were not abstract selec-

tions for graduation. Her courses provided the background for her understanding of

the world around her, and her leadership roles and activities were the vehicles she

used for reaching out to others. Not surprisingly, her leadership roles and activities

revolve around service to others and in organizing efforts to foster awareness and

change. They include serving as the President of the Black Student Union, the Vice

President of the National Honor Society, the founder and organizer of the “Unity in

Stories Initiative”, where she led school-based storytelling sessions, and the student

representative to the Student Voice Committee, which advocates for student interests.

She also served as a Campus Action Network Representative for the National Organi-

zation of Women, and as a Youth Advocate for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation,

where she met with state representatives to secure funding for research. Angelman

Syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic birth disorder caused by a loss of function of a gene

in the mother’s 15th chromosome. It shares symptoms and characteristics with other

disorders including autism and cerebral palsy.

Her outreach also included a variety of audiences, from storytelling to elemen-

tary school children, to getting students in her high school involved in issue which af-

fect them, and to interacting with adults in the Prince William County community. She

was a Restorative Justice Volunteer in the Prince George’s County (MD) State’s Attor-

ney Office Teen Court Program, where she spent one to two weekends a month hear-

ing cases relating to juvenile offenders.

Kirah’s AP teacher concluded her recommendation by saying “Kirah embodies

the qualities of a leader, a thinker, and a compassionate advocate for social justice. I

am certain that she will not only excel in higher education but also contribute mean-

ingfully to our community and, one day, the world.” Any organization would be fortu-

nate to have an advocate in their midst, including the Bull Run Civil War Round Table.

Kirah will be attending Hampton University next fall to begin her studies in the De-

partment of Communicative Sciences and Disorders. It is not a coincidence that the

University also offers an M.A. degree in Speech-Language Pathology.

The Scholarship Committee members are John Carter, Mark Knowles, and Mike Block.