The Jones Foundation recently awarded its new Jones Premier Nursing + Education Scholarship, a competitive full-ride for nursing and education majors, to its first class of graduating high school seniors.
Since its establishment in 1974, The Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Foundation has provided medical and educational assistance to Lyon, Osage and Coffey County residents in need. Previously, the Jones Foundation has offered Undergraduate Education Grants and The ESU Jones Success Scholarship, the intent of which is to offset the expense of tuition and fees.
“Quite honestly, we need to give more money,” said the foundation’s Executive Director, Sharon Tidwell, when asked about the new scholarship’s purpose. “But, we also wanted to keep some of our brightest students here in the three counties.” She also explained that their intent, along with their other scholarships, is to “eliminate stress” when financing education.
According to the ESU scholarship website, The Jones Premier Scholarship awards up to six incoming full-time students- one education and one nursing major from each of the three counties- achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or higher or scoring at least a 28 on the ACT. It is a “last dollar” scholarship that is renewable for three subsequent years, given that recipients have maintained specified requirements.
This is the first time the Jones Foundation has offered a competitive scholarship, and therefore the first time the foundation looked beyond basic requirements and financial need.
“[We want to award] students who are active in various organizations,” Tidwell says. “Most of them are involved in sports and also do a very good job juggling classes. But, for the most part, it’s those who are very caring, interested in helping others, smart, and, based on the awards we just gave out, are well-liked by other students.”
Tidwell stated that the selection process proved difficult because they had many highly qualified candidates. But in the end, the first class of scholars was announced and awarded in February. The five recipients are Brooklynne Morrison from Lyndon High School, Kelsey Rice from Marais des Cygnes Valley High School, Emily Rolf from Southern Coffey County High School, and Addison Gutierrez and Vianet Umana from Emporia High School.
“Going out and awarding these scholarships was just super, super heartwarming,” expressed Tidwell. “It was really awesome to experience. It was very rewarding, and [the recipients] were very thankful. No one left with a dry eye.”
