George County Sr Among 9 to Receive Corporate-Sponsored Scholarships

Courtsey of WLOX/April 22,2007
Nine Mississippi high schools seniors will attend college this fall on corporate-sponsored scholarships they earned by being finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Corp. program.
The spring graduates are among about 1,000 students nationwide receiving Merit Scholarship awards financed by some 300 companies, foundations and other business groups.
Their road to becoming National Merit finalists and scholars began in their junior year of high school, when they took a National Merit qualifying test.
Andra Harris of Lucedale, a senior at George County High, is among them. She's thrilled to receive a $10,000 award sponsored by Northrop Grumman, her father's employer in Pascagoula.
"I'm going to Mississippi State, and I'm going to major in meteorology," Harris said. "This scholarship means a lot less pressure on my parents for having to pay for my college."
Austin Alexander of Ridgeland, 18, a senior at Jackson Academy, is bound for Ole Miss, where he'll be in the Honors College. His Merit scholarship is sponsored by BellSouth.
"It's a really big honor," Alexander said. "It was really good news. I did get a full ride, and that's really great."
Those receiving corporate awards meet the criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate organizations generally provide Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or have plans to pursue majors or careers the grantor wishes to encourage.
The amounts vary - from $500 to $10,000 per year - and most of the awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. The Gannett Foundation, through its Madelyn P. Jennings Scholarship Program, is a corporate sponsor.
Luke Schwalm, a senior at Madison Central High, is receiving a National Merit scholarship through the foundation.
"We've done this for years because it's a very effective and very rewarding program, not only for the kids who are selected, but for Gannett," said Tara Connell, vice president of corporate communications for Gannett and executive director of the Gannett Foundation. "It's great for our employees, and we love doing it."
Recipients can use their award at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
"The corporate organizations funding these Merit Scholarships recognize the value of supporting the intellectual development of some of our nation's most capable students," National Merit officials said in a news release.
Winners had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earn SAT scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance.
Some 15,000 Merit semifinalists met finalist requirements.
Later this spring, Merit Corp. officials will announce more finalist scholars whose awards are sponsored by their colleges or from the Merit Corp.'s own funds.