Emerson pays way for 9 future engineers
Nine area students are attending St. Louis Community College through the Emerson Minority Engineering Scholarship program.
Scholarship recipients are Michael Thompson (McCluer North High School), Cornelius Smith (Jennings), Dedrick Windom (Parkway West), Corey Bradley (Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC), Precious Forrest (Hazelwood East), Courtney Boddie (Triad), Wisanel Labbe (attended high school in Haiti), Jerome Larkin (Hazelwood Central) and Alexander Albandoz (Gateway Institute of Technology).
The Emerson scholarship program makes it possible for participating students to earn a degree in mechanical, electrical or computer engineering with nearly all expenses paid.
Students follow a specific pre-engineering curriculum at St. Louis Community College, then transfer to the University of Missouri-Rolla to complete engineering degrees.
The scholarship covers the cost of maintenance fees for up to six consecutive semesters at St. Louis Community College. After completing pre-engineering studies with a minimum grade-point average of 2.5, students then are eligible to transfer to UM-Rolla as juniors under a second scholarship, the Minority Engineering Transfer Scholarship, which covers maintenance fees for up to three years at UM-Rolla.
To be eligible for the Emerson scholarship, students must meet the following criteria:
* U.S. citizen or permanent residency card
* Status as a graduating high school senior or St. Louis Community College student
* Residency in St. Louis City or County, St. Charles, Franklin or Jefferson counties in Missouri, or Madison, Monroe or St. Clair counties in Illinois
* Grade-point average of 2.5 or better in mathematics and science, and minimum ACT math and science scores of 18
* Two years of high school math (Algebra I or higher).
Since 1988, more than 180 students have participated in the program.