More than 30 Southwestern Community College students and several donors were honored during the SCC Foundation’s Scholarship Luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the college’s Jackson Campus.
Founding trustee W. Paul Holt, Jr., who helped establish the SCC Foundation in 1973, served as keynote speaker. While sprinkling in stories from over the years, he traced the college’s growth and emphasized the importance of scholarships.
Also addressing the crowd was Jesse Moore, a recipient of the Patricia M. Holt Endowed Scholarship and a member of the NASA high-altitude balloon team at SCC this past spring.
“This event was a great opportunity to recognize some of our finest students as well as the generous people who are making a college education possible for many who might not be able to attend SCC otherwise,” said Dr. Don Tomas, Southwestern’s president. “It’s heartwarming to see students meet the people who made their scholarships possible.”
Among those recognized at the event were Temre Gillig, Dominic Caprita and Megan Marsten – recipients of this year’s Student Success Scholarships.
The full-year, tuition-and-fees scholarships were made possible through the Student Success Campaign – the most ambitious fundraising effort in SCC’s history. The college aims to raise more than $1 million to to help more students than ever before. The campaign currently has more than $850,000 in the bank.
“We are making tremendous strides,” said Brett Woods, director of the SCC Foundation. “Overall this academic year, we were able to financially support 61 students. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough resources to help the other 165 deserving applicants this fall. That’s why the Student Success Campaign is crucial: We want to bridge the gap between scholarship need and availability.”
For more information about the SCC Foundation and the Student Success Campaign, contact Woods at b_woods@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4241. You can also make a donation at www.southwesterncc.edu/give-now.
