The application period for scholarships administered by the East Tennessee Foundation is now open and includes opportunities for adult students as well as graduating seniors.
“We encourage people to apply,” said Beth Heller, ETF Director of Scholarship Programs, adding the ETF scholarships aren’t just about good grades. “We look at the whole student,”she said.
ETF scholarship program requirements range from financial need to scholastic achievement. Several scholarships are targeted toward specific schools or counties, particular fields of study, students involved in certain extracurricular activities, or those who may not display the highest scholastic rankings yet still possess great potential and motivation.
“I encourage students to get started now because they have to get a letter of recommendation,” Heller said. The deadline to apply for any of the ETF scholarships is Feb. 15.
Scholarship information as well as the application information is available online through the ETF website at www.easttennesseefoundation.org/receive/scholarships.aspx.
“It is not a difficult applications process,” Heller said.
Over $550,000 has been disbursed in scholarship awards for the 2016-2017 academic year to 178 students participating in ETF scholarship programs.
There are some new scholarship being administered by the ETF this year.
One of the new offerings is the Butterfly Fund Memorial Scholarship.
“It is for students pursing a career in pediatric oncology,” Heller said, adding the Butterfly Fund was founded by parents who lost a child to cancer.
Heller said the scholarship includes a broad variety of fields. Students can major in anything from social work to careers in the medical field such as nursing or surgery as long as the career path focus will be working with children who have cancer, Heller said.
Another new offering this year is the Valkyrie-Thor Theatre Arts Scholarship. This scholarship is to assist graduating high school seniors and college students from the ETF’s 25-county service region who are studying or plan to study theatre arts at Pellissipi State Community College, Roane State Community College, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, or Maryville College.
“We do have a new scholarship for veterans,” Heller said, adding it is among the group of scholarships aimed toward adult students. The Colonel Kurt Davis Veteran’s Scholarship is to assist veterans from ETF’s 25 county service area, as well as Bradley County, in pursuing a degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
While the Dr. E.E. Perry Memorial Scholarship is not new, there still a lot of excitement about it within the Foundation.
“This is the second year for the Perry and we are hoping to get lots of applications,” Heller said. The Perry Scholarship is the largest scholarship administered through the ETF that is geared specifically to students from Carter County with recipients receiving $10,000 per year for four years.
The following is a list of scholarship opportunities through the ETF that are available to students in Carter County.
• Dr. E.E. Perry Memorial Scholarship
For graduating high school senior or GED recipient from Carter County planning to study math or science
Scholarship Amount: $10,000 per year for 4 years
• Butterfly Fund Memorial Scholarship
To assist students pursuing a career in a broad variety of fields within pediatric oncology.
Scholarship Amount: $1,000 one-time award for one year
• Cherish the Child Scholarship
For current or former students age 25 or younger, who were served by Smoky Mountain Children’s Home as residents or as foster care participants
Scholarship Amount: $3,600 one-time award for 1 year
• James K. Goldston INFOSEC Scholarship
Graduating high school seniors, college/university students AND adult students from ETF 25-county service area pursuing undergraduate programs of study in computer science, computer engineering, cyber science, information security, OR a National Security Agency-approved Information Security (INFOSEC) curriculum. Open to former recipients.
Scholarship Amount: $1,200 one-time award for 1 year
• Valkyrie-Thor Theatre Arts Scholarship
To assist graduating high school seniors and college students from ETF’s 25-county region studying theatre arts at Pellissipi State Community College, Roane State Community College, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, or Maryville College.
Scholarship Amount: $1,000 one-time award for 1 year
• Debbie Van Cleave Scholarship
The scholarship is intended to benefit legally blind students from ETF’s 25-county service area to pursue higher education. Applicants must be blind with vision of 20/200 or less in the better eye after correction and/or a visual field reduced to 20 degrees or less. Graduating high school seniors, current college/university students, GED recipients, and returning adult students may apply.
Scholarship Amount: $1,000 one-time award for one year
For more information on the scholarships available or how to apply, visit the ETF website at www.easttennesseefoundation.org or contact Beth Heller at 1-877-524-1223 or by e-mail at bheller@etf.org.