Minority Scholarships & Knowing Your Heritage

You may wonder why some people to great lengths to know their genealogy. Some just find it interesting – knowing where you “came from” brings much security and peace. Others want to know what traditions and stories to pass along down the family line as new children are born and grown children get married. But for others, and especially families with a senior whose eyes are focused on graduating in May, there may be some scholarship opportunities if your family is considered minority in some way.

Undergraduate Scholarships

In the realm of scholarships, and particularly undergraduate scholarships, there are literally thousands of scholarships offered to those based on varying life circumstances. Sports and athletic scholarships are the obvious ones. But you can also get a scholarship for having survived cancer, writing a great essay, your parent’s employment, being tall (seriously – check out the “Tall Club” scholarship) and even the race that you and your family descend from.

Minority Scholarships

Many scholarship programs exist for minority students. Both financial aid and grant programs are available for students who meet the qualifications of each scholarship program. Some programs require full-blood of a minority race, but others require some sort of proof of descent. Below are some of the most common scholarship programs for minorities. Even if you don’t fit one of these main areas, there is more than likely a scholarship designed just for you based on your family history or situation. Continue to search through scholarship databases to find scholarships you may qualify for.

African-American Scholarships

There are hundreds of scholarships for black students. Not only are there African-American scholarships, but there are also programs designed specifically for Black History Month. This website lists the top scholarships for black students in 2012.

Native American Scholarships

According to Scholarships.com, Native Americans are one of the “most underrepresented groups both in college and in the degree-holding population.” Because of this, several American Indian scholarships apply. Qualifications for these scholarships will vary; some require a card-carrying tribe member, others may require one-quarter Indian blood or federal recognition. Native Americans may also qualify for general minority scholarships, academic and sports scholarships, and even programs if the student is the first generation to enroll in an undergraduate program. Learn more about scholarships for Native Americans.

Scholarships for Hispanics

Hispanic scholarship programs vary in requirements and amounts. Some offer funds for any individual with Hispanic descent, others are country-specific (for example Cuban Americans.) There are many programs out there for individuals who qualify and can prove Hispanic descent. Review a list of scholarships for Hispanics here.

Proving Your Race through Ancestry DNA Testing

If you’re not sure about your race, or looking for a way to provide proof that you’re a descent of a particular people group, we can run an ancestry DNA test to fill in the pieces and provide proof of the DNA you carry. This is great for families looking for scholarships for their students, as well as individuals who’ve always wondered where they came from.

Bieber Fever and a Paternity Test

Anyone else caught up on the E! news gossip of the week? If not – here’s a short synopsis (no, we’re not even going to mention Kardashian – we’re focused on Bieber and the paternity test this week…)

Headlines read Bieber's been accused of paternity

Apparently, a 20-year-old woman is alleging that Justin Bieber is her young son’s father. She says that the two met backstage at  concert in LA, and as a result she now has a 3-month old son, Tristyn. Bieber is stating these allegations are false – saying he never met this woman. (Seems like reporters have dug up enough interviews with the accuser to validate Bieber’s claims.) It was even reported that he seemed calm and collected about the whole thing while in Europe and Ireland, while performing with gal pal Selena Gomez. To show just how calm and collected his is regarding the allegations, he’s agreed to take a paternity test once he’s home from Europe.

Paternity Testing And The Media

This isn’t the first time a celeb has been accused of being a baby-daddy, and taken a paternity test to prove accusations were false. He’s in the company of Ashton Kutcher, Tiger Woods, Keanu Reeves and more who’ve had false accusations of paternity placed on them. However, this is one of the first ones to pop up about young teen sensation, Bieber.

While it may not always be easy to relate to the lifestyles of celebrities, paternity tests are one way to bring us back to the reality that celebs are indeed just like us. They sometimes have to jump through some of same hoops and questions the rest of us do. I see many clients in my lab for paternity testing in the same spot as Justin Bieber – he’s been named the baby’s daddy, she’s adamant that it’s him – he’s adamant that it’s not. The only way to find out? DNA paternity testing.

Advice for Justin Bieber and the Paternity Test

As a Worcester lab that performs frequent DNA paternity tests, if we could tell Justin Bieber a few pieces of advice, the would be to go through with the plan to get a DNA test to prove his “innocence.” Get a court-admissible DNA test so that if any further legal action brews from this, the test may be used in the courts. And to always remember the lesson that this is teaching – there’s always a way to find out the absolute truth when it comes to paternity and DNA.

What is “Court Admissible DNA Testing?”

You’ve heard of DNA testing. You’ve heard of paternity testing. But unclear of “Court Admissible testing?” Read on…

If you'll need to use your lab results in court - get a court admissible test!

What is a “Court Admissible” test?

When you have a “court admissible” test performed, the lab results can be used as evidence in court. As an independent lab trained in court admissible testing, we handle collecting data and providing results to ensure the test results may be used in legal matters. The test itself has passed legally required guidelines and can be used in court cases and D.S.S hearings.

What’s involved in a “court admissible” test?

By having a test approved to be “court admissible,” we follow the following requirements:

• Testing takes place in a third-party office (in our case, our Worcester lab)
• All adults show valid ID and proof of SSN
• Photos are taken of those being tested
• We use “chain of custody” documentation – meaning we take a chronological and logical approach to carefully filling out paperwork

Why a court admissible test?

A court admissible test isn’t only needed for your legal matters – but may also become important for your wallet, too. Legally, a court will accept lab work as evidence if it’s been performed through the correct procedure. Sometimes in a case when paternity is at question, an “at-home” kit may be purchased and the paternity test performed. While this may or may not give the answers when it comes to paternity – if the courts get involved, they won’t always accept the at-home test as legal evidence. You’ll end up having to get a “court admissible” test from an independent lab, paying double in the long run.

More often than not, a court admissible paternity test is needed to prove paternity so that an order for child support can be served. In order to prove paternity in the courts, a court admissible test is needed.While paternity is the most common reason a court-admissible test is needed, here are some other cases when a court permissible test may be used:

• Immigration issues
• Adoption issues
• Claim social security and insurance benefits
• Claim custody
• Confirming identity of newborns upon hospital error

Learn more about getting a court-admissible test in Worcester, MA.

Learn more about standards for court-admissible testing.

Donor Children Seek Answers | DNA Tests

I recently stumbled upon this remarkable story about a woman searching for her father. However, this wasn’t just any case of a “Who’s my Dad” search. This woman was a child conceived by sperm donation (termed donor conceived), and she’s since jumped through hoops, performed hours upon hours of research, and completed almost twenty DNA tests to try to identify her biological child. And apparently, she’s not alone. There’s a growing group of people out there considered “donor conceived” looking for answers, searching for ties to their biological families.

Anonymousus.org is a safe place for donor children to connect

Donor Children Seek Answers

It’s pretty common these days for families who undergo adoption to seek an open adoption arrangement. There are benefits for both families, with the ultimate benefit being the child knows who their biological parents are and their genealogy. Children born from donors have no idea, however. And as a growing number of children reach adulthood, they will continue demanding answers about their rights to paternity information.

Donor Rights in Other States, Countries

In America, the courts continue to go back and forth about sperm and egg donor rights. Many other countries have regulated pathways where children have rights to this information. Some states in the US have required that donor information be released to donor children when they become legal adults, however those options are easily opted-out of and avoided. Many donors don’t want their identified revealed for a number of reasons, although the woman in the article mentioned that several men have been willing to undergo paternity DNA testing to see if she was a biological daughter of theirs. She’s currently completed 18 DNA paternity tests, although still not found any luck in finding her biological father.

Read more from a Newsweek story about the movement from donor conceived children.

DNA Testing Provides Some Answers, Despite Paternity Questions

As resulted in this woman’s case, as well as many other donor children who undergo DNA testing to discover genealogy – at least some answers are being found. This women learned though DNA testing that her paternal roots are Ashkenazi Jew, from Eastern Europe. She’s finding a link to her history, and hoping this will eventually lead her to find her biological dad.

Learn more about Donor Conceived Children:

Anonymousus.org – A website designed by a donor conceived individual to provide a safe place for those longing for unanswered questions.

Free Sperm Donor Registry – Sites like this offer ways for donors and children to connect.