KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 21, 2018

Scholarships will support first-generation students

Kennesaw State University has received a $1.25 million donation from The Coca-Cola Foundation for the creation of a scholarship program supporting first-generation students.

The Coca-Cola First Generation and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Scholars program will provide scholarships and wraparound services to 35 students who identify as first generation – those who are first in their immediate families to seek college degrees.

A selection committee of scholarship administrators, graduation coaches and faculty will be formed to pick 21 first-generation students and 14 first-generation, underrepresented STEM students from a pool of eligible applicants. Students will be evaluated based on financial need, grade point average, academic major, community service and a scholarship essay. Each recipient will receive a $5,000 award, which will be coupled with the HOPE Scholarship annually to cover all costs associated with tuition, fees and books. Kennesaw State’s Val Whittlesey, associate vice president for curriculum; Jennifer A. Wade-Berg, associate professor of human services; and Ruth Goldfine, interim associate dean of the University College; will lead the program.

An online application system for the program opened Nov. 1 and will run through April 1. Recipients will be notified of their selection on May 1.

In addition to scholarships, the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship program grant supports one-stop academic and social support designed to meet the needs of the students in the target populations. Support will come in the form of graduation coaches, mentoring receptions and a series of workshops during the course of the four-year program.

The donation is timely for Kennesaw State as there were 8,968 first-generation students – about 28 percent of the total undergraduate population – enrolled during the 2016-17 academic year. At the same time, Kennesaw State has yet to achieve critical mass among its female population in STEM fields. Female students are in the minority for three of the University’s STEM colleges.

“We created the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship Program to support students who are the first in the immediate families to go to college because we believe in the ripple effect it creates in building lives and sustaining communities,” said Helen Smith Price, president of The Coca-Cola Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Kennesaw State University to make college a reality for 35 deserving first-generation students.”

For more information about the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship Program, click here.

– Travis Highfield

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.