![\"Alfred](\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jamal-kinchen-web.jpg\")
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Alfred Jamal Kinchen is a student with many talents. A junior at SIU, Kinchen is working on double majors in both Aviation Management and Piano Performance. His dream is to one day be a commercial airline pilot but he hopes he can continue to play piano on the side.<\/p>\n
A University Excellence scholar and a recipient of the Steven Barwick scholarship, Kinchen says that if it wasn\u2019t for those scholarships, he would not be enrolled at SIU today.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents said they could not afford to send me to college. The only way I could go was if I received enough scholarships. When I opened that letter telling me I won those two scholarships, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders,\u201d said Kinchen. \u201cI am forever grateful for those scholarships.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what he likes most about SIU, he could not pick just one thing. \u201cI really like the size of the university. For me, it\u2019s not too small and yet it isn\u2019t too big. I also don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m just another face in the crowd. Everyone in both the music and the aviation programs have been so helpful. I feel like I know everyone \u2013 from students to professors. It just feels very comfortable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kinchen encourages alumni to give back to SIU. \u201cIt is so hard financially for so many students here. I just hope that alumni remember how they felt when they were a student. A helping hand is what so many students need right now,\u201d Kinchen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope one day to create a scholarship specially for disadvantaged students. I\u2019d like to focus on giving back to minorities. I think scholarships would encourage more minorities to receive an education like I have.\u201d<\/p>\n
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