Fourteen Southwest DeKalb High School seniors walked into a room Wednesday with representatives from State Farm and Georgia State University. They had applied for full scholarships to a two-year program at the Georgia State University - Perimeter College, Decatur campus.
But every student there received a scholarship to attend college this fall.
“A college education gives people a better life, but for too many, it is unattainable,” Georgia State President Mark Becker said in a release announcing the State Farm Scholars program. “Obstacles students face in pursuing post-secondary education range from difficulty securing financial aid and unreliable transportation to lack of emotional support.”
The university is giving out 50 scholarships to South DeKalb students through the partnership with State Farm, announced Tuesday in a Facebook Live event. University officials said the scholarships are given to students who otherwise would not have been able to attend college.
Georgia State’s Learning, Income and Family Transformation program will track student progress of those in the program, hoping to help students clear obstacles as they continue their education.
An additional $5.5 million provided by the insurance company will be used by nonprofits and local schools to provide additional student support.
The 14 Southwest DeKalb High seniors who received scholarships are:
Christina Crossland
Imani Culver
Bianca Davis-Tolmaire
Armani Felder
Taquez Goolsby
Keyanna Johnson
Portia Johnson
Kalen Jones
Azure Middlebrooks
Ailonnie Moore
Akiva Ochoa
Eric Patterson
Khalil Prather
Jocelyn Ramey
The partnership allows Georgia State to expand its student success initiatives into the two-year associates degree programs.
Scholarship winners will continue to be announced. The deadline for applications is May 1.
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