LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brianna Day spent the first chapter of her career managing apartment complexes and single family homes. 

“After a while I was like you know what, I'm gonna get my real estate license,” said Day. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Noir Black Chamber of Commerce and Noir Realty are sponsoring three scholarships to cover real estate training, courses and exams

  • The opportunity is for Louisville-based Black individuals earning less than $25,000 annually

  • The covered program is a 96-hour course

  • The scholarship committee will be looking for someone interested in pursuing real estate long term

Setting the goal for a better career for herself and her new baby was the easy part, but making it happen was more challenging. 

“I was thinking nobody told me about this. I mean you watch HGTV, it looks so easy, you're like, 'I'm just gonna go to school and get my license, get my little piece of paper and it's all gonna work out.' No, it doesn't work that way, there's a lot of fees and everything that comes associated with being a real estate agent,” said Day.

To her surprise, Day had to come up with hundreds of dollars to cover the costs of training, courses, and exams all while balancing life as a single mom.

“I did struggle a lot, and especially, you know, being a mom, trying to figure things out on my own, but Tamika and the rest of the Noir Realty staff helped me along the way with funds and seminars and classes,” she said. 

Tamika Jackson is the owner of Noir Realty, the realty company Day works for as a realtor. 

Jackson and her team are assisting others wanting to work in the field, but struggling to cover the cost associated with the process. 

The Noir Black Chamber of Commerce Real Estate Industry Scholarship will cover the costs of fees and training for three Louisville-based Black individuals earning less than $25,000 annually to remove the financial barrier to a career that Jackson said provides long-term stability. 

“I think it's life changing,” said Jackson. “It's very lucrative to have a career in real estate because you have so many different avenues, so there's a lot of opportunity to find different ways to have income in real estate.”

Day said her story is proof that a career in real estate can change a life. 

“Real estate, I can honestly say it's probably one of the things that saved my life. I've gone through a bunch of recent passings of family members and things like that, but between my daughter and real estate, it’s what kept me going and also it’s given me a lot of confidence that I didn't know that I had,” said Day. 

She wants others to stay true to their dreams no matter what obstacles they run into. 

“Don't give up. Don't stress out about it. Always do your research and find out there's always ways that you can get the funds that you need,” Day said. 

The deadline to apply for the scholarship is Aug. 1 and recipients will be announced next week. Those interested in the scholarship can apply online.

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