A letter back to Larry
A gift from Scholars Equity Network
You were part
of my story.
To everyone who believed in us before we could see what was possible.
This began as a thank-you to one person. It became a way to thank everyone who helped us get here.
Tap anywhere to send out a ripple.
The Room Where It Happened
Larry saw what happened when we came together.
During his closing remarks at the 2026 Pay It Forward Summit, Larry Griffith watched scholars spend the day learning from one another and imagining what they could build together. Inspired by what he saw, he wrote a letter to more than 20,000 Gates Millennium Scholars. Many wrote back.
Larry has long been a champion of the Gates Millennium Scholars program, a partnership among four organizations: UNCF, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund, and Native Forward Scholars Fund.
In their letters, scholars thanked Larry and shared what the scholarship made possible—not just in their own lives, but in the classrooms, clinics, courtrooms, kitchens, boardrooms, and communities where they now make a difference.
Their stories remind us how far one investment can reach, and how that impact continues as scholars open doors for others.
We want to share these stories more broadly because they're not just a tribute to Larry. They're a reminder of how much it matters when someone believes in another person, creates an opportunity, or opens a door, often without ever knowing how far that act will reach.
Thank you, Larry, and thank you to everyone who has poured so much into us.
The original letters
Read together, the letters show how far one opportunity can travel.
Follow the ripplesYou're here because someone you helped wanted you to see this. Below are stories from other Gates Millennium Scholars, and some of the people who made their journeys possible.
The ripples
One act of kindness. Then another. Then another.
Every scholar has a story of what an opportunity made possible, and how they've carried it forward. We rarely know how far our acts of kindness will travel or whose lives they might touch along the way.
We created this interactive space to help you explore those stories and discover just how interconnected we are. Touch a face and watch the connections unfold. There's no right way to explore, so follow your curiosity and see where it takes you.
Choose a scholar
Each one wrote about how they pass it on. Their own words appear here.
Concept. The faint lights at the edge stand for the people each scholar has helped. We haven't counted them, and we won't invent a number. Only the scholars' faces and words are real.
Grouped by us from what each scholar wrote. These are not official categories, and a scholar can belong to more than one.
Each light is a scholar. Lines join scholars who invest in others in a similar way (grouped by us, from their letters). Choose a thread to follow it.
Hover or tap a light to see who it is.
Look closely
Inside these letters, you'll find other people.
Each scholar wrote about their own journey. Woven through them, in their own words, are the people who made those journeys possible.
None of us got here alone
We began in a room, together. Larry saw what happened, and we wrote back.
As we reflected on the opportunities his leadership helped make possible, we were reminded of something bigger.
None of us got here alone.
Behind every Gates Millennium Scholar is a constellation of people who believed in us.
Some gave their time: a counselor who handed us the application.
Some gave their talent: a teacher who wrote a recommendation.
Some gave what they could least afford: a family member who made sacrifices.
And someone saw possibility in us before we could see it ourselves.
Many of those people may never know how far their kindness traveled.
What if we told them?
Thank someoneThank someone
Who was part of your story?
At the Summit, we built Mosaic to thank everyone who made the day possible. Now it's your turn to thank the people who made you.
The counselor who handed you an application. The teacher who said you should try. The person who wrote your recommendation. The family member who gave something up. The mentor who believed in you. They may never have known what happened next. Now you can tell them.
Your card travels as a private link. When they open it, they see your message first, then a short welcome and the stories of other scholars. They don't need to know anything else. We only count how many cards are made. We never see or save what you write.
Keep the ripples going
Now it's our turn
to open the doors.
The next generation is waiting for someone to believe in them.
None of us arrived here alone. The opportunities that changed our lives existed because someone chose to invest in people they might never meet, whose futures they couldn't yet imagine.
Today, we are those people.
Somewhere, there's a student with the same potential we had, waiting for someone to see it. A young person who needs encouragement, a recommendation, a connection, or an opportunity they don't yet know exists.
The doors that opened for us won't automatically remain open for them.
We have to keep opening them.
That's why we're building Scholars Equity Network, a community of more than 20,000 Gates Millennium Scholars alumni from all four partner communities. The scholarship invested in each of us as individuals. We exist so scholars can invest in one another, through mentorship, leadership, and the doors we open for each other. Through the Pay It Forward Accelerator and the Pay It Forward Summit we turn those acts into lasting community impact.
What can you pay forward? Your time, your talent, your treasure. Start by thanking someone who helped you.
Meet the Scholars Equity Network CommunityThe story doesn't end with us.