New Scholarships for Bonner Scholars Program
Emory & Henry College has a new scholarship for students in need of financial support, who in turn wish to help others in need. The College recently honored Paul L. Phillips, E&H Class of 1964, and his contribution of $25,000 to establish an endowed gift for the Bonner Scholars Program. Students selected for the program receive funding for their education in return for community involvement and service. The initial preference for the Phillips Scholarship will be first-generation students and/or students in need from Pulaski County, where Phillips is from.
“I grew up poor, but I never knew it,” Phillips said in front of the audience gathered for the scholarship’s signing on Tuesday, Nov. 13. “We were surrounded by a certain set of values, such as the importance of the community and your family. It’s values like this that made Emory & Henry College an easy choice for my education, and an easy choice for who this money should go to.”
Echoing this sentiment were students currently in the Bonner Scholars Program, who walked up to the podium to share why the program is important to them and their education. Students like Luis Ramirez-Hernandez ’22, who came to Southwest Virginia from Monterrey, Mexico. “The Bonner Program has made it possible for me to not only attend college, but also to take a look at my community and my surroundings, and really find ways that I can serve both here and beyond.”
Paul L. Phillips ’64 Endowed Scholarship Fund
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Vice President for Advancement Joseph P. Taylor addresses those in attendance for the signing ceremony. -
President Schrum and Phillips shaking hands during the ceremony. -
Luis Ramirez-Hernandez ’22 speaks at the signing ceremony. -
Emmitt Kasey ’21 speaks at the signing ceremony. -
Madison McFarlane ’21 speaks at the signing ceremony. -
Tal Stanley, Director of the Appalachian Center for Civic Life speaks at the signing ceremony. -
Phillips addresses those in attendance at the ceremony. -
Bonner Scholar students listen to speakers at the signing ceremony. -
President Jake Schrum signs documents with Paul L. Phillips ’64. -
President Jake Schrum signs documents with Paul L. Phillips ’64 surrounded by students from the Bonner Scholars Program.
Other students, like Emmit Kasey ’21, believe the program will connect to their future occupations, “I plan on finishing graduate school with my masters in Sports Management, and the Program has enabled me to not only get my undergraduate degree, but also to help me make connections to people and be more understanding of how I can help them.”
“I am genuinely happy to give this money, because I know the students of this program will give themselves and their community a great return on this investment,” Phillips said in his closing remarks.
Programs like E&H’s Bonner Scholars Program are rare in the world of higher education, though it is a larger part of what makes Emory & Henry College a service-first school. Established in 1991 by the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation, Inc., of Princeton, New Jersey, the Bonner Scholars Program is the premier scholarship program at Emory & Henry College, offering 15 scholarships annually for eligible students, in return for eight hours of direct community service and two hours of reflection and participation in enrichment events per week.
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I am genuinely happy to give this money, because I know the students of this program will give themselves and their community a great return on this investment.
-Paul L. Phillips, Class of 1964