Two GCS Seniors Selected for Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarships
Christopher Bresette from Eastside High School and Kathleen Cole from Mauldin High School were selected to receive corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 200 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.
Christopher received the National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship, funded by the United Parcel Service Foundation. Christopher plans to major in Biomedical Engineering. Kathleen received a National Merit CSX Scholarship, funded by CSX Corporation. She plans to major in English Literature.
Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
Funding for these National Merit Scholarships is provided by corporate organizations that represent nearly all sectors of American industry. Sponsors from the business community have underwritten awards offered in all 58 competitions, expending or committing more than $700 million to support the intellectual development of the nation’s scholastically talented youth.