13 Middle Georgia students receive $130,000 in scholarships

The Education Together scholarship program is about trying to keep great kids local.

That’s how Jami Gaudet, program director for Education Together, describes the initiative, which awarded 13 Middle Georgia students $130,000 in scholarships Tuesday at the third annual scholarship luncheon at Mercer University.

The program, founded by The Telegraph, partners with local organizations to provide Middle Georgia students with money to attend college locally in hopes of developing a community of scholars that choose to remain in Middle Georgia after college.

The program’s goal to transform and continue to grow the local workforce is why this program is changing Middle Georgia and changing kids’ lives, said Telegraph General Manager Ross McDuffie.

“I cannot explain how I feel,” Aliah Hughley, a Westside High School graduate, said after receiving an Education Together scholarship. She will pursue a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics at Fort Valley State University. “To me, it just seems as if I was blessed with another family to support me and really wish me well on my endeavors.”

Hughley is among 10 students who each received a $10,000 scholarship, which renews annually for four years, from Education Together.

Aleshia Luciano and Lyndsey White each received the $7,500 Navicent Health scholarship for two years of nursing school, and Sarah Spalding received a four-year $15,000 annual scholarship from Mercer University.

Four teachers — Amy Brand of Howard High School, Kurt Dwonkowski of Tattnall Square Academy, LaTanya Singleton of Northeast High School and Laura Voss of Stratford Academy — each were awarded $1,000 from the Teacher Excellence Awards.

In the last three years, the needs-based scholarship and workforce development program has given a combined $549,000 in awards to students from Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach and Twiggs counties, Gaudet said.

Applications and information about next year's scholarship can be found at www.cfcga.org.

The scholarship recipients are:

• Shania Clayton
  
  
• Zaria Freeman
  
  
• Cierra Gardner
  
  
• Javier Gullien
  
  
• Christianna Hughes
  
  
• Aliah Hughley
  
  
• Macey Limbaugh
  
  
• Aleshia Luciano
  
  
• Riya Patel
  
  
• Alexis Redden
  
  
• Sarah Spalding
  
  
• Lyndsey White
  
  
• Anthony Willing
  
  

This story was originally published June 12, 2018 at 5:35 PM with the headline "13 Middle Georgia students receive $130,000 in scholarships."