Incoming Freshmen Awarded Full Tuition Presidential Scholarship
Photo courtesy of Bluefield University Facebook
Each year, Bluefield University awards its Presidential Scholarship to two incoming freshmen. This year, Joseph Flannigan and Sophie Hall were selected as the recipients of this prestigious award.
The Presidential Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship renewable for all four years of a student’s bachelor’s degree at Bluefield University. But with this great gift comes great standards.
To apply, each applicant must have at least a 3.5 grade point average (GPA), two letters of recommendation, and an academic resume to apply for consideration for the scholarship. Applicants are then asked to come to campus to be interviewed by a panel of faculty members and to write a timed essay on site; their performance in these areas decides who the recipients will be, along with overall qualifications considered, as well.
Wayne Pelts, assistant director of the Academic Center for Excellence, local author, and 2025 Presidential Scholarship faculty panel member, agrees that much is expected of the Presidential Scholarship applicants, but much is given, as well.
“I am so pleased that Bluefield University offers amazing scholarships for amazing new students,” Pelts said. “The competition is indeed fierce, but the reward is super impressive. The best and the brightest compete for the biggest dollar scholarship package that BU offers — the Presidential Scholarship.”
When it came to deciding the winners of the scholarship, the faculty members who interviewed Flannigan and Hall had high praise for the scholars.
“I believe what stood out most about Joseph was that he is wanting to attend Bluefield University as an undergraduate student, then go on to our partner (institution) VCOM (Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine),” said Michelle Griffith, BU financial aid advisor. “He wants to complete his education and return back to the area to give back to his community. He has achieved so many things in his life already, and I feel that he will be a great addition to Bluefield.”
As for Hall, who will be pursuing a criminology degree, she impressed Dr. Shellie Brown, BU’s dean of the School of Education and Social Sciences.
“Sophie displayed strong future goals, drive, and determination,” Dr. Brown said. “She has excelled in academics, athletics, and extracurriculars during high school and will do well in the Teacher Education Program at Bluefield University.”
Hall, looking forward to becoming a part of the close community that is Bluefield University, said that she found the experience of coming to Bluefield University to compete for the scholarship enjoyable.
“I really enjoyed the experience of coming to campus and competing,” she said. “Everything was very well organized, and within downtime, I was able to socialize and meet new people in the Ram community.”
Hall also spoke about her and her community’s reaction to finding out she had received the scholarship.
“We were all very excited to find out that I had won the competition,” Hall said. “I was definitely in a state of shock.”
Read more about the winners here.