The South Carolina State Fair, a self-supporting 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is excited to announce the opening of applications for its 28th annual Ride of Your Life Scholarship program. Each year, this initiative allocates $500,000 in college scholarships to high school seniors across South Carolina. Applications are open until March 15, 2025 and can be submitted online at scstatefair.org/scholarships
“At the South Carolina State Fair, we are dedicated to harvesting the potential of South Carolina’s young adults by investing in their education and future,” says Nancy Smith, general manager of the South Carolina State Fair. “Through initiatives like our scholarship program, we strive to cultivate a brighter future for our communities and state.”
Since 1997, the S.C. State Fair has awarded more than $5 million to South Carolina students through the Ride of Your Life Scholarship program, reflecting the fair’s commitment to community-focused initiatives.
Scholarship Details and Application
This year, $10,000 scholarships will be awarded to 50 high school seniors across South Carolina and will be paid out at $2,500 per year over four years. Students pursuing two-year degrees will receive $2,500 per year over two years.
The scholarship funds must be used at a South Carolina university, college or institution, and may cover tuition or other educational expenses such as on-campus housing, a computer or textbooks. Scholarships are awarded based on academic and extracurricular achievement, communication skills, need and completeness of the application. Recipients must retain a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale and enroll in no less than 30 credit hours each academic year to receive funding for that year. To learn more about this program, visit scstatefair.org/scholarships or contact Betsy Cooper at betsyc@scstatefair.org or 803-799-3387, ext. 110. Scholarship applications must be completed online at www.scstatefair.org/scholarships by March 15, 2025. Scholarship award recipients will be notified in mid-May of their award status. This year’s S.C. State Fair will take place October 8-19, 2025.
Francis Burns United Methodist Church to celebrate Black History Month
Francis Burns United Methodist Church celebrates Black History Month on Wednesday, February 12 at 11:00. The program will feature Janie Mines, South Carolina native and first African American female graduate of U.S. Naval Academy. Special musical guests, Center For Learning, Inc. Honors Chorus. Francis Burns UMC is located at 5616 Farrow Road in Columbia, South Carolina. For additional information call 803-754- 1760.
Students excel in Benedict’s Health & Sport Management Department
Benedict College’s Health and Sport Management Department ended the fall 2024 semester by celebrating the last cohort of students to earn the certificate of completion for the South Carolina Public Health Preparedness Student Corps (SCPHPSC). The SCPHPSC is an initiative of the Clemson University Center for Research on Health Disparities, under the direction of Dr. Shirley Timmons, in partnership with Benedict College, Claflin University, Coastal Carolina University, Frances Marion University, and the Medical University of South Carolina.
The SCPHPSC aims to promote and expand a workforce prepared with a social mission of community resilience, public health, and health equity. Students were guided in the successful completion of select educational and workforce development immersion activities that augmented their baccalaureate academic curriculum and allowed them the opportunity to volunteer (along with other students, professionals, and laypersons) within the national network of volunteers known as the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which in South Carolina is the regional Public Health Reserve Corps (PHRC). The PHRC is a program that provides an opportunity for medical, behavioral health, and non-medical volunteers to assist communities during disasters and non-emergency public health activities.
The Benedict College SCPHPSC program was led under the direction of Mr. Henry Counts and Dr. Tami Ashford-Carroll, faculty in the Health and Sport Management Department. Mr. Counts, the principal investigator, and Dr. Ashford-Carroll, the program coordinator, encouraged all public health majors to apply for the program. Preparation and response to natural disasters requires public health knowledge and skills in addition to other knowledge bases and skills. Therefore, students from nine other academic majors (i.e., social work, mass communication, accounting) were also encouraged to apply for the program. Benedict College had a total of 137 students to successfully complete the program from the spring of 2022 through the summer of 2024.
They are currently working to make SCPHPSC sustainable and an integral component of the Benedict College’s Public Health program.
