GREENEVILLE – Tusculum University recently celebrated the support many female students receive from a national scholarship program that empowers them to earn their degrees and pursue fulfilling careers.
Student participants in the lunch pose for a photo with Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president.
The Office of Institutional Advancement hosted a scholarship luncheon, recognizing this year’s recipients of the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation scholarship. The scholarship is available to Christian female students with financial need. Tusculum is one of more than 200 higher education institutions where students receive the scholarship.
The event brought 30 students to Chalmers Conference Center to enjoy good food and hear from Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president, and BriAnna Higgins, a sophomore English Education major and vice president of the Student Government Association.
Dr. Hummel encouraged the scholarship recipients and highly praised the foundation and its originators, leaders and staff.
“They’re not giving and doing this for the thank you’s,” he said. “Instead, they are doing it to make a difference. They are doing it to give you opportunities that you might not have had otherwise.”
Two scholarship recipients eagerly shared their gratefulness for the funding.
“I believe the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation scholarship has helped me feel validated as a young woman in the pursuit of a higher education,” said AnnaLee Simpson, a sophomore majoring in history with a concentration in museum studies.
Another student, Maria Torres, a senior majoring in communication with a minor in marketing, shared how helpful the scholarship has been.
“As a first-generation college student of immigrant parents, this scholarship has taken the anxiety not just off my shoulders, but off my parents’ shoulders,” Torres said. “It has enabled me to have the college education I have always dreamed of experiencing and they have always dreamed for me. The scholarship is very valuable to me.”
Both students have put their scholarship to good use by pursing their bachelor’s degrees and being heavily involved in campus life. Simpson serves as president of the SMASH history club, SGA treasurer and Art and Design Club treasurer. Torres is the Debate Club president and a peer tutor at the Center for Academic Success and Tutoring.
Students were excited to participate in the luncheon.
Higgins presented a speech written by fellow scholarship recipient, Evie Winfrey, who could not attend due to a scheduling conflict. Winfrey is a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting major and is the SGA president. The speech was a touching recount of Winfrey’s own struggles as a college student, and the relief the scholarship provided for her and her family.
“This scholarship not only relieves me of the weight, but it takes the weight off my parents’ chest as well,” Winfrey said. “For that, I am eternally grateful. This clarity and ease have pushed me to pursue my education even further.”
As part of the event, students were encouraged to write a personal thank-you card to be sent to the foundation. Cheryl Fehl, senior director of grants and development with Tusculum’s Office of Institutional Advancement and the event’s organizer, said the cards were a necessary part of the luncheon, as they expressed the university’s gratitude for the foundation.
Dr. Hummel said scholarship support is critical for students to achieve their academic dreams.
“Most of our students need monetary assistance based on their personal circumstances,” he said. “Tusculum is an affordable institution through the generous support of many donors and other forms of financial aid. We are honored to be associated with the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, which has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to the futures of young ladies who will make their mark on their communities and the world.”
The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation prides itself on its scholarship program. The scholarship is named after and inspired by the generosity of Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans. She generously gave to educational institutions throughout her lifetime, and her son, Conkey Pate Whitehead, aimed to honor her legacy with the foundation scholarship. The foundation has awarded more than $998 million in financial aid through its endowed scholarships and is currently serving more than 10,000 students.
To learn more about the foundation, please visit https://lpwhitehead.org/. Those who are interested in providing scholarship support to Tusculum students can call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 423-636-7303. More information about the university is available at www.tusculum.edu.