Almost nothing is as rewarding as getting to make the call letting a student know they have been selected from a pool of 1,500 applicants for a Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) scholarship. Sometimes there are tears or shocked silences, but always, always gratitude.
At FRS, we seek to improve quality of life in America, and our scholarships, enabling the next generation of rural leaders, are key to advancing that mission. This year, thanks to generous donors and sponsors, we were able to award $128,000 to 59 incredible students.
Students like Dalton Peters, who hope to serve our country, wrote to us:
“Thank you for presenting me with a scholarship this year. I will be attending the United States Air Force Academy where I will have numerous fees my first year, and your scholarship will help my family and I dearly.”
And students like James Clay Johnson, who love their community:
“This scholarship is particularly meaningful to me because I know that FRS and Oregon Telephone Co. are fully committed to the rural communities of Eastern Oregon and interested in supporting students who plan to pursue their careers here. My roots run deep in Grant County, and it is definitely my goal to return to this very valley to teach school and, God willing, raise my own family in the shadow of these mountains. Being named as a recipient of an FRS scholarship award feels like a vote of confidence. … This scholarship offer has been accepted with great joy and I will be sure to give you a good return on your investment for me.”
Whether in Oregon, Montana or South Carolina, our rural communities are filled with talent—talent that FRS hopes to help foster with our scholarships. Thank you to the telcos that support the FRS scholarship program. We couldn’t do it without you.