The birth of an unprecedented partnership between the Hopkinsville Rotary Club and Hopkinsville Community College has laid the foundation for all local high school graduates to attend HCC tuition free beginning in 2012.

The Rotary Scholars Program, announced recently during a Rotary Club meeting at the War Memorial Building, is designed to make available scholarship money for public and private high school graduates to continue their education at Hopkinsville Community College.

The scholarship money will be available beginning with the graduating class of 2012.

Fifty years ago, the Hopkinsville Rotary Club established a student loan program that has since resulted in more than $8 million in loan money for nearly 9,000 local students.

Russ Guffey, president of the Hopkinsville Rotary Club said the Rotary Scholarship Program is a natural next step for the organization that has always valued education.

"The Hopkinsville Rotary Club has always stood on the pillars of youth and education. For more than a half of a century, our club - with the help of the community - has reacted to the needs of our students. The Rotary Scholars Program, however, is a proactive initiative our club has established to help raise the community's college going rate, educational attainment and job preparedness. And best of all, this program offers a level playing field for all of our students."

The scholarship money will be available up to the full HCC tuition amount and will be available for four consecutive semesters. Federal and state grant and scholarship dollars will be applied to tuition prior to any money made available from the Rotary Scholars Program. The scholarship money is only available for students to attend HCC.

"With the creation of this program, this community and every student here will be the beneficiaries for years to come," said Dr. Jim Selbe, President of Hopkinsville Community College. "Due to Rotary's commitment to education, dramatic transformations in our community and its citizens can now happen. This community has just changed its destiny by leaps and bounds."

Students and their parents must meet a variety of criteria to qualify for the scholarships.

The student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher along with a cumulative high school attendance rate of 95 percent or higher and must never have been expelled from high school in order to qualify for the scholarship money.

In addition, students must attend an orientation to college course while still in high school along with a Rotary Scholars Program information and enrollment session with their parents.

The availability of scholarship money for high school graduates to attend Hopkinsville Community College is an added incentive for students to stay in school, and excel academically.

"The opportunity to attend an institute of higher learning free of charge is a powerful incentive for all high school students," said Dr. Bob Lovingood, Superintendent of Christian County Public Schools. "This partnership helps reinforce what we, as a school district, have always been aiming for. If students know this opportunity exists as they enter high school, the possibilities are endless."

Information about the scheduling of parent and student information sessions will be available soon. High school principals and guidance counselors will be briefed soon on the parameters of the program so they can communicate critical information to students and their families.

Private individuals as well as businesses are encouraged to make donations to the Rotary Scholarship Fund.

For more information, contact the Hopkinsville Rotary Club at 270-886-3034 or rotary@hopkinsvillerotary.com, or visit www.hopkinsvillerotary.com/.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Program