Scholarship to help Mo. students
Published April 22, 2008
MU has unveiled a new scholarship targeted toward helping students who are the first in their families to attend college.
The MU Flagship Scholars program will provide one student in every county of the state, including the city of St. Louis, a four-year free-ride scholarship. The program will favor students who are outstanding leaders and are the first in their families to attend college. In exchange, the students would spend time every year promoting college in their hometowns.
Flagship Scholars Program Director Jo Turner said the scholarship helps to reinforce the idea that MU is dedicated to helping communities across the state.
“The Flagship Scholars program helps show people another way MU is in their community making a difference for them, even if they live in the further most corner of our state,” Turner said.
The scholarship aims to deal with rising college costs and lower state funding, according to an MU news release. In the last five years, state funding for all Missouri’s public, four-year institutions has decreased by 9 percent while inflation has increased by 10 percent, the news release stated. Earlier this month, the UM system Board of Curators decided to raise tuition by 4.1 percent in all UM system universities.
Junior Danielle Copeland was the first in her family to attend college. She said often students are turned away from attending college because of the financial burdens that might be placed upon them.
“I think (the scholarship) is very important because a lot of first generation student scholars do not have a lot of money to be able afford to go to school,” Copeland said. “So even gaining a scholarship is a big deal, but to actually get a full scholarship, that is the biggest deal.”
In 2006, only 24 percent of Missouri adults held college degrees in comparison to the 28 percent of adults in the nation who achieved that similar feat, according to the release.
Turner said students who are selected to be a part of the Flagship Scholars program would be required to spend at least 20 hours a year promoting college attendance in their hometowns.
“We wanted to create a program that would start opening the doors more,” Turner said. “I look at the program as having a lifetime or generational ripple effect. Once you get a student here who is the first in their family, the research on this says their siblings are more likely to go college, their friends are more likely to go to college and even others in the community are more likely to go.”
Copeland said the homecoming aspect of the Flagship Scholar program should be beneficial. She believes students who are the first of their families or communities to attend college can have a lot of influence in persuading others to join them.
“I visit my high school, I visit my middle school and talk to all of my family members,” Copeland said. “I encourage them a lot to go to school and do what they need to do right now to get here.”
Turner said the program will begin this fall in Marion, Audrain and Caldwell counties. She said the scholarships will be the result of private donations to the university.
MU Spokeswoman Beth Hammock said she expects people to donate directly to the program as they become aware of its cause.
“We know that there are people who are willing to, and able to, make these kinds of contributions if they understand the need and understand there will be well qualified students chosen to receive this scholarship,” Hammock said.
