The Benwood Foundation, in partnership with the Public Education Foundation, has announced the 18 recipients of its inaugural Bridging the Gap scholarships, which will total $300,000 over the next four years.
In a continued commemoration of its 75th anniversary, Benwood established a scholarship program to support Hamilton County high school seniors through their college journey by annually awarding last dollar scholarships to help cover unmet college costs.
The foundation will use the funds to provide summer internships and other travel and enrichment experiences to ensure the Benwood scholars – especially those from the most challenging backgrounds – succeed at every stage of their collegiate journey, the foundation says in a news release.
Community leaders and Benwood Foundation trustees will serve as mentors to the scholars and follow them through their collegiate journey.
Benwood Foundation President Sarah Morgan said the best way to honor the foundation’s past is to invest in the future of talented students.
“We know it’s expensive to go to college, and sometimes, students don’t anticipate all the expenses they’re going to see,” Morgan says. “We’re glad to help meet that.”
Scholarship awards vary by recipient and are based on the unmet costs for room and board, tuition, fees, books or transportation. The resources will bridge the gap of costs that institutional, state and federal financial aid and other outside scholarships do not cover.
The Benwood Foundation scholarship is a need-based scholarship and is renewable for up to four years.
The following 2020 high school graduates were selected:
Brainerd: Ashanti Bell, Paul Bell
East Ridge: Aleah Davis, Chaniya Mines, Gekayla Shumake
Hixson: Autumn Coonrod, Melissa Fienga, Carol-Khanh Hua
Howard: Jeremiah Fuget, Adrian McGhee, Lenin Ramos, Imani Rowe
Red Bank: Shannon Ledford, Kendall Stolpmann
Tyner: Sharice Delaney, Gabriella Jackson-Olson, Le’Airius Jones, Zora Thomas.
Applicants were required to have a 2.75 GPA or higher, submit two letters of recommendation, demonstrate perseverance and leadership and participate in a virtual interview in order to receive the scholarship.
Source: The Benwood Foundation