ECMC Awards $96,000 in College Scholarships to 16 Students in Virginia

 Students from Six High Schools Complete ECMC Scholars Program

RICHMOND, Va., June 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) is proud to recognize 16 high school graduates from the class of 2023 as ECMC Scholars. The students each earned a $6,000 scholarship and represent the following high schools: Buckingham County High School, Eastside High School, Freedom High School, King and Queen Central High School, Ridgeview High School and Westmoreland High School.

For the past two years, these students participated in a comprehensive mentoring program designed to help build academic and life skills. Unlike a traditional academic scholarship, students were selected to participate in the program based on their potential—not solely on their academic merit. Working in collaboration with school staff and the ECMC Scholars Program team, students spent their junior and senior years of high school actively preparing for postsecondary education.

"The ECMC Scholars class of 2023 is an absolute testament to the grit and determination needed to succeed in spite of losing the last nine weeks of their freshman year, followed by varying degrees of virtual, hybrid and masked in-person class times their sophomore and junior years before fully returning to in-person classes their senior year," said Jan Smith, ECMC Scholars Program manager. "To complete four very different years in high school is not easy, but they got the job done."

The scholarship funds can be used for enrollment in a degree or certificate program at an accredited college, university or career and technical education institution. In addition, each class of 2023 scholarship recipient has been given the opportunity to receive personalized near-peer college coaching services provided by Beyond 12. This service provides academic, social and emotional support students need to persist in postsecondary education.

"The ECMC Scholars Program is designed to help students reach their educational goals by providing financial support. Many students will be the first in their family to attend a postsecondary institution," said Paula Craw, ECMC vice president of student success and outreach. "Now more than ever, it is important to provide students with a holistic approach to helping them get to and through postsecondary education."

Since 2005, ECMC has awarded $9.1 million to 1,514 ECMC Scholars students in Virginia alone. Over the past 18 years, ECMC has awarded more than $20 million in scholarships to more than 3,000 in Virginia, Oregon and Connecticut.

About ECMC 
ECMC is a nonprofit corporation with a mission to help students succeed. ECMC works to lower student loan default rates; sponsors college access and success initiatives, and financial literacy programs; and provides resources to support student loan borrowers to successfully repay their loans. To learn more about ECMC's initiatives, visit www.ecmc.org/students.

SOURCE ECMC