ROCKINGHAM — Six Richmond County students are among the 215 across rural North Carolina to be awarded a scholarship of up to $14,000 from the Golden Leaf Foundation.
According to a press release issued June 12, high school seniors starting as first-year students at a college or university for undergraduate study are eligible for up to $3,500 per year for all four years.
Community college transfer students are eligible for the same amount for three years.
According to the press release: “Recipients from rural or economically distressed North Carolina counties are selected based on future career goals and an expressed intent to contribute to the stateʼs rural communities upon graduation from college.”
Students were selected from 58 of the state's 100 counties, most of which are designated Teir 1 — the most economically distressed — by the N.C. Department of Commerce.
“We are proud to award scholarships to students who have deep connections to their rural communities,” Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF president and CEO said in a press release. “These recipients were selected from nearly 1,600 applicants. We look forward to their future accomplishments as they continue their education and become North Carolina's next generation of rural leaders.”
Four of the local students are from Richmond Early College High School: Kelsie Cox, Riley Howell, Hayley Martinez and Randall Ramirez. Cox and Howell will both be attending Wingate University, Martinez will be going to UNC-Chapel Hill and Ramirez is enrolling at UNC-Charlotte.
The other recipients are Richmond Senior High School’s Ava Edmondson, who is heading to UNC-Wilmington, and Zoey Williams, who is transferring from Richmond Community College to UNC-Greensboro.
"Congratulations to all those who received a Golden LEAF scholarship, especially those from Richmond County," state Rep. Ben Moss, R-Richmond, said in a statement. "This is a recognition of all the hard work that you put into your studies over many years. I know all Golden LEAF scholars will continue to make a positive impact on North Carolina's rural communities."
The release states that scholarship recipients can apply for the Golden LEAF Rural Internship Initiative which “provides Golden LEAF Scholars with professional work experience related to their career field in a rural North Carolina community.”
Interns are paid $18 per hour for up to 400 hours of work at internships from May through August.
“Congratulations to the students in my district who have received the Golden LEAF Scholarship,” said state Sen. David Craven, R-Randolph. “This prestigious scholarship is given to students who are committed to improving their rural communities and each student is deserving of this opportunity. I am very proud of them and what their future holds.”
