Horatio Alger Association Awards 50 Exceptional Montana Students With $7,000 Scholarships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2015
CONTACT:
McKenna Young
484-385-2913 (office)
[email protected]
Horatio Alger Association Awards 50 Exceptional Montana Students With $7,000 Scholarships
Through the generosity of Horatio Alger Member Dennis R. Washington and his wife, Phyllis, the Association recognizes and awards inspiring and resilient young men and women from Montana with college scholarships
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2015) – Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education, today announced that 50 students from Montana will receive its prestigious 2015 Horatio Alger Montana Scholarship in the amount of $7,000, generously funded by the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation. The University of Montana and Montana State University system schools have offered to provide an additional $5,000 award to each scholarship recipient, bringing the total grant amount to $12,000, which will be disbursed over the course of the student’s college career. These young men and women are recognized for their admirable commitment to continuing their education and serving their communities, despite facing significant adversity in their youth.
“I’ve long been an advocate for education and continue to support Horatio Alger Association in its important mission to help students achieve their dreams of pursuing higher education,” said Dennis R. Washington, chairman emeritus of Horatio Alger Association. “It is incredibly humbling to hear stories of these young men and women. Their perseverance and unwavering drive for success, even in the face of adversity, continues to inspire my wife, Phyllis, and me.”
The program, now in its 12th year, complements the Association’s existing National and State Scholarships, which total more than $10 million this year. This scholarship is open to eligible high school seniors in Montana who maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA, exhibit financial need and demonstrate perseverance in overcoming personal challenges. Recipients must pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Montana or Montana State University, or one of their affiliates.
Since 1984, Horatio Alger Association has administered one of the nation’s largest privately funded, need-based scholarship programs, awarding more than $110 million in undergraduate, graduate and specialized scholarships to students across the United States (including all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and Canada. In 2000, 16 years after the establishment of its National Scholarship Program, Horatio Alger Members began funding scholarships concentrated in each state to further the Association’s mission of offering deserving young people across the nation financial support to pursue their collegiate goals.
“We are grateful for the continued generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Washington as they support the Association and our incredible Scholars,” said David Sokol, chairman of Horatio Alger Association. “I know this year’s group of Montana Scholars will achieve great success in their lives and we are certainly proud to support them.”
Collectively, the 2015 Horatio Alger State and specialized scholarship recipients have maintained an average GPA of 3.7 and a mean SAT score of 1,195 (out of 1,600), while coming from households with an average annual income of $19,766.
For a complete list of the 2015 Horatio Alger Montana Scholars, please click here. For more information about Horatio Alger Association or to apply to one of its scholarship programs, please visit www.horatioalger.org.
For additional information about the many charitable works of The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, please visit http://www.dpwfoundation.org/.
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About Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans:
Founded in 1947, Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. fulfills its mission of honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education. Horatio Alger Association supports students through annual undergraduate and graduate need-based scholarships and mentoring programs across the United States and Canada. Since 1984, the Association has awarded more than $110 million in college scholarships to deserving young people. For more information, please visit www.horatioalger.org.