By Jade Lantz
Published on November 7, 2007
Samantha Majors, 18, a freshman at PJC, has her finances in place. After graduating from Tate High this past spring, with a GPA of 3.5, she now attends PJC as an Elementary Education Major, paid for by four different scholarships.
While attending Tate, Majors participated in many extracurricular activities such as Student Council, Cheerleading, Honor Society, and Student Government Association.
“Sam has always been an outstanding student,” says her mother. She was voted “Best All Around” in high school.
Before leaving Tate, Majors made some important trips to Laurie Webre, her guidance counselor, who told her about an assortment of scholarships.
Webre wrote letters of recommendation for Majors’ scholarships, describing her as “Enthusiastic, energetic, and talented at multi-tasking.I am proud to give my highest recommendation.”
One of Majors’ main scholarships is Bright Futures, which pays for 100 percent of her classes. This scholarship has been available throughout Florida since 1997, rewarding students for their academic achievement in high school. Because of Majors’ above average GPA, she was automatically approved for the Bright Futures Scholarship.
Majors’ other scholarships include 2+2, Phi Delta Kappa, and EAAE.
The 2+2 scholarship is for minorities majoring in education, paying $800 per semester, granting that students are enrolled in 15 semester credit hours per term.
Although Majors’ Bright Futures covers the expense of classes, the 2+2 scholarship would almost completely cover classes since 15 credit hours costs roughly $1,000 at PJC.
She can use these extra finances for books and other materials for school.
Phi Delta Kappa, a Sorority for Teachers, provides funding for students majoring in education. For the PDK scholarship, Majors had to write a 500-word essay describing why she wanted to be an education major. In this, she included that “teaching is something I enjoy very much .the money doesn’t really matter, I just love children!”
PDK recognized what an excellent academic student Majors was, and were overjoyed by her essay, rewarding her with a one- time check for $1,000.
The Escambia Association for Administrators in Education honors students on a yearly basis with grants of $1,000 towards their college education.
With all of these scholarships, Sam has nearly $10,000 worth in finances; more than enough to cover her expenses at PJC.
Sam admits that applying for these scholarships was time consuming, however, “they are definitely worth it!” She can now spend more time studying, rather than working to pay for school.
Countless scholarships are still available to all kinds of students. Some helpful websites are: www.FloridaStudentsFinancialAir.org and www.scholarshipamerican.com
Students can find additional information through PJC’s Financial Aid Office. Applications are available there or online at www.pjc.edu/students/services/dccs/scholarAp07-08.pdf . To get in contact with an advisor, they can be reached at (850) 484-1680.