The high cost of college coupled with the burden of student loans can be the biggest barrier to higher education for many young scholars.
The Community Church at Tellico Village is in the third decade of a program that provides financial support and mentoring to the most deserving among the best and brightest students in the area.
Established in 1992, the scholarship emphasis is one of the oldest mission programs the church is involved with, Patrick Welch, chairman of the scholarship team, said.
He said the church has awarded about $700,000 in scholarships to 131 students in the 30 years of the program.
The program funds four scholarships a year, one for each of four area high schools, including Loudon and Lenoir City high schools and Greenback School. The scholarships provide $1,750 per year for a four-year total of $7,000.
“We always have 16 students in the program,” Welch said.
The scholarships are awarded based on need, academics, activities and leadership. Welch said need is the most important criteria, but the other factors are also considered essential. Typically, there are at least four or five students applying from each of the four schools, he said.
He said when interviewing students he is always amazed at the quality.
“You hear so many bad things about kids these days it fills you with hope to know that there are some great kids out there,” Welch said.
The church recently held Scholarship Day to announce this year’s recipients and acknowledge the achievements of previous recipients.
The 2022 recipients include Hunter Evans, a graduate of Loudon High School who received the Carl F. Burke Scholarship. He will be attending the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and studying mechanical engineering.
Katelyn Hutchinson is a graduate of Lenoir City High School and received the M. Laird Wilson Memorial Scholarship. She will be attending Tennessee Tech University and studying pre-med.
She said the scholarship was a great help because of the amount of study required to carry a double major in molecular biology and bio-chemistry.
She plans to attend medical school and become a radiologist.
“It was a big help because now I will only have to take out one loan,” Hutchinson said.
She said she also enjoyed the opportunity to participate. She has a mentor from the church she can call on for advice.
Audrey Anne Presley is a graduate of Greenback School and will be attending Tennessee Tech University to study social work.
Charles Jackson “CJ” Hall is a graduate of Sequoyah High School. He will be attending Lee University to study education.
The only requirements for the scholarship winners after the award is they must keep in touch with the church and come back to update the congregation on how they are doing, Welch said. Showing up on Scholarship Day is how they fulfill the commitment, he said.
The special day is held on a Sunday for all the congregation to get a chance to meet students who are part of the program. Of the 20 students invited to participate this year, 15 returned to address the congregation.
“They each gave a two-minute speech from the pulpit,” Welch said.
Following their speeches, students joined a reception line and met members of the congregation.
“It was really great to meet with them,” Addison Stooksbury, a 2021 Lenoir City High School graduate who is studying chemical engineering at Tennessee Tech University, said. “They always have encouraging words to say.”
Stooksbury said the scholarship was important for her to attend school full time without worrying about taking out student loans. She said her parents, who also have another daughter in college, are thankful she could get this assistance.
