Money available for community college students
Ethan Hendricks
Staff Writer
staffwriter3@occc.edu
Students who need money for college can now apply for help from Coca-Cola, said Marion Paden, Enrollment and Student Services vice president.
USA Today, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, the Coca-Cola Foundation, the American Association of Community Colleges and Phi Theta Kappa are working together to provide $500,000 worth of scholarships to students currently enrolled in community colleges in the U.S.
Paden said students must meet certain requirements to be eligible for this scholarship.
Students must be enrolled at OCCC through December 2009, she said.
They must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 for all college coursework completed in the last five years, regardless of institution attended.
Paden said students are required to have a minimum of 36 semester college-level credits completed at or transferred to a community college by Dec. 31 and 48 semester college level credits by Aug. 10, 2010.
They also must have 30 semester college-level credits completed at a community college in the last five years, she said.
And finally, Paden said, students must not have any record of probation, suspension or other serious disciplinary action.
Information and applications are online at www.ptk.org/schol/aaat/announce.htm . The access code, ausat2010 to download the application from the website.
The applications also can be acquired from the Enrollment and Student Services office and Student Life, she said.
All applications are due to Office of the Vice-President of Enrollment and Student Services by Nov. 16.
Paden said OCCC will choose two students from the applicants and nominate them for awards.
Those two students will be featured along with the rest of the nominees, in the USA Today newspaper.
She also said they will be presented at the Phi Theta Kappa’s President’s Breakfast held during the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges Convention April 19, in Seattle.
This is the 20th year this scholarship has been offered to community colleges in the United States.
“Every year, for the past decade, OCCC students have been informed about the opportunity and encouraged to apply for the All USA Community College Academic Team,” Paden said.
Students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa also will be eligible for the Guistwhite Scholarship, which is also part of the All-USA academic team.
Paden said a committee will review the applicants and nominate two students to be forwarded to the 2010 All-USA Academic Team and Coca-Cola Scholarship.
The two students selected will automatically become part of the All-Oklahoma Team and will be eligible next year for additional tuition waivers and scholarships from many of the state’s four-year institutions.
She also said stipends of $2,500 will be awarded to the 20 First Team members, $1,500 to the 50 Team Gold Scholars, $1,250 to the 50 Team Silver Scholars, $1,000 to the 50 Team Bronze Scholars, and $1,000 to the All-State Academic Team National Finalists.
For more information, contact Paden at 405-682-1611, ext. 7595 or visit the Enrollment and Student Services office.
