Contact: Addie Mayfield
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Two Mississippi State University-Meridian students have been selected as the first recipients of the Jerry and Ruth Scott Annual Scholarship.
Carly Gensheimer of Union and Madison Tew of Meridian will receive the award, established by the Jerry and Ruth Scott Foundation to assist working adult students enrolled at MSU-Meridian. Benefactors Jerry and Ruth Scott made their home in Meridian for more than 30 years, where Jerry Scott served as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) with Anderson Regional Medical Center. Ruth Scott, a native of Hinesville, Georgia, attended MSU-Meridian from 1989 to 1993.
Both inaugural recipients will each receive $3,500 for the 2017-18 academic year. In addition to their studies, the recipients also are employed in degree-related jobs. Gensheimer, a sophomore communication major, currently works as a weekend news reporter for WTOK-TV in Meridian, while Tew, a junior elementary education major, serves as a teacher assistant at Meridian’s Northeast Elementary School.
“The Jerry and Ruth Scott Scholarship is giving me the opportunity to receive the education I need to reach my goals,” Tew said. “I have a passion for children and their education and am so grateful for this scholarship and how it has helped me do what I love. As a teacher, I hope to give back what has been given to me.”
Candidates for the scholarship must have a minimum 3.5 grade point average from their two most recent semesters of coursework at MSU-Meridian or another institution, and must be employed. Students who are recipients one year may be eligible for consideration in any other year, given they maintain selection criteria.
As a planned gift, the Jerry and Ruth Scott Annual Scholarship upholds the late couple’s commitment to the betterment of their hometown through continued investments in the education of hard-working students.
“Planned gifts are a great way to ensure that your investment will impact future generations,” said Wes Gordon, director of planned giving for the MSU Foundation. “The Scotts’ scholarship will touch many lives as it relieves financial burdens and enables more students to achieve their goals through higher education at MSU-Meridian.”
Bequests, charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities are common deferred gifts; however, a variety of options exist. The MSU Foundation’s Office of Planned Giving is available to assist alumni and friends with estate planning. For more information, contact Gordon at 662-325-3707 or wgordon@foundation.msstate.edu. Gift planning with the MSU Foundation is also available online at msugiftplanning.org.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.