Press Release from MerleFest
March 5, 2012. WILKESBORO – Wilkes Community College congratulates Nichole Hampton and Mary Regina Griffith, the 2011-2012 recipients of the Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Nichole is a first-year associate of arts student who plans to graduate in 2013 and then transfer to a university to study music and elementary education. She wants to become a music teacher. Mary Regina Griffith is a second-year student in the Human Services Technology program with plans to graduate in 2012. She hopes to continue her education at Gardner-Webb University and become a counselor.
“Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me,” says Nichole Hampton. “I didn’t think that I would ever get a scholarship to go to college, and this scholarship really helped with my books and supplies for school.”
“It has always been a dream of mine to go to college, but that dream was cut short when I was younger. Now that I am older and my children are older, I decided to make my dream come true. But, I would not have been able to do that without financial help,” says Mary R. Griffith. “When I heard that I was honored with this scholarship, my future of getting a degree started looking brighter again. This scholarship means being able to live my dream and make it a reality.”
The Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship was established in 1993 by Trisha L. Austin Stanley. To date the scholarship has helped 74 students with a total of $33,000 in scholarship money. Funds for the scholarship are raised through the annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest held at MerleFest.
Wilkes Community College, a member of the North Carolina Community College System, is a public, two-year, open-door institution serving the people of Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany counties and beyond.