Liberia: First Recipient Named for Late Minister Sylvester M. Grigsby’s Memorial Scholarship at CWA, on What Would Have Been His 76th Birthday

Monrovia – A 15-year-old aspiring lawyer has become the first recipient of a memorial scholarship honoring the late Hon. Sylvester “Greg” Grigsby, the veteran Liberian diplomat and two-time Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, who would have turned 76 today.

The College of West Africa Global Alumni Association (CWAGAA) Scholarship Committee has named Fatima Beautiful Prodita Geebah the inaugural recipient of the CWA Global Scholars Award through the Sylvester M. Grigsby Scholarship. The announcement was made today, October 15, Grigsby’s birthday, a date his family chose deliberately for the scholarship’s annual public announcement.

A Young Scholar Who Saw Herself in His Values

Fatima enters the 10th grade at the College of West Africa this academic year, joining CWA from Star International School. According to the Scholarship Committee, she aspires to become a lawyer and an advocate for justice, particularly on behalf of those who are disadvantaged and underserved.

The Committee said what made her especially compelling was “the meaningful connection she expressed to Hon. Grigsby’s life and values.” In her application essay, Fatima reflected on his commitment to integrity, honesty, accountability, public service, and love of country. She wrote that true leadership should not be viewed as a position of privilege, but as a responsibility to safeguard the public trust, an ideal she hopes to carry into her own future service to Liberia.

She also wrote that excellence cannot be achieved through shortcuts, and described education as an essential step toward gaining the knowledge and qualifications needed to serve Liberia effectively through public service and community development.

“We are especially pleased that the inaugural recipient of this memorial scholarship is a young woman who not only recognizes Hon. Grigsby’s distinguished legacy, but also sees in his example values she hopes to embody in her own life,” the CWAGAA Scholarship Committee said. “We look forward to supporting Fatima throughout her journey as a CWA Global Scholar.”

A Scholarship Built on His Own Story

The Sylvester Mondubue Grigsby Scholarship was established by his wife, Cleopatra Dudley Grigsby, and daughters, Diana  Grigsby and Scheagbe Mayumi “Umi” Grigsby, Esq., following his death on August 9, 2025. It is administered by CWAGAA in partnership with the College of West Africa, where Grigsby graduated with the Class of 1969.

The family said the award is intended for students with ability and will who should never have to leave school because of fees. Recipients are selected by the CWAGAA Scholarship Committee on the basis of financial need, character and service to others, and academic promise. Awards are paid directly to the school and are designed to follow the student through to graduation.

The cause is a personal one. Born October 15, 1950, in Sinoe County, Grigsby went from CWA to Cuttington University College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1973. On a Japanese government scholarship, he became the first Liberian to attend the University of Tsukuba in Japan, earning a Master of Science in Economics in 1979.

“Before he was a diplomat, before he was a Minister, before he was any of the titles the world gave him, he was a boy walking through the gates of the College of West Africa on Ashmun Street,” the family said. “CWA made him. He believed that one of the surest ways to change a country was to put a child in a classroom and keep that child there.”

More Than Four Decades of Service

Grigsby served Liberia for more than forty years across multiple administrations. He was Liberia’s Ambassador to Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the European Union, and the ACP Secretariat from 1992 to 1995, and later served as Deputy and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. Under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, he served as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff from 2015 to 2018. In January 2024, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai appointed him Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, the post he held until his passing.

He was a Knight Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Pioneers and a recipient of the Great Band of the Order of the Star of Africa. Outside government, he founded the Sunrise Group in 1984, the publisher of SUNRISe Magazine, SUNTIMEs, and SUN Newspapers.

Those who knew him remember a man who lived by the Adinkra wisdom Gye Nyame, “Except for God,” and who believed in showing up for the people he loved.

Supporting the Fund

The family thanked CWAGAA, the CWA administration, and the classmates, colleagues, and friends who have contributed in Grigsby’s name. Contributions in any amount are pooled into the fund to keep more Liberian students in school, and can be made through the CWA Global Alumni Association at cwaglobalaa.org/scholarship, noting “Sylvester M. Grigsby Scholarship.”

“God willing, he will live on in a classroom on Ashmun Street,” the family said, “in a young Liberian who may never meet him, but who will finish school because he was here.”