Dreams Fulfilled Local Scholarships Paving the Way

Paying for college is no joke – but some of the scholarships out there sure sound funny.

By Steve Hanf

The internet is filled with gimmicky awards of all sorts, from those for lefties to kids who are tall; for students who are Trekkies or shoot marbles; there’s even one for kids who come up with a grand plan to survive the Zombie Apocalypse.

Somewhere, someone probably has won one of those scholarships, but with an international pool of contestants vying for those dollars, well – the odds may never be in your favor.

Students on the Outer Banks, on the other hand, are blessed with countless organizations and individuals showing that tried-and-true OBX community spirit. Each spring, graduating seniors gather in packed auditoriums with expectant parents at First Flight High, Manteo High and Cape Hatteras Secondary School for the big reveal.

Award dollars come from big organizations like the Outer Banks Community Foundation and Dare Education Foundation. From statewide groups like regional health systems and the State Employees’ Credit Union. From local churches like Mount Olivet, Kitty Hawk and Duck Methodist. From a number of local interest groups like the Home Builders Association, Dare County Boat Builders, Beach Buggy Association and the Surfrider Foundation. And local businesses like the OBX Shipping Center, First Flight Rentals and Farm Bureau Insurance.

“I often tell folks that the best days at work are the days where we go to scholarship night at the high schools and be part of a really big collection of great organizations that are all providing scholarship awards to deserving students getting ready to start their academic journeys and their careers,” says Chris Sawin, President and CEO of the Outer Banks Community Foundation. “I’m often struck by how many folks are along for the ride.”

2024 Manteo High School senior recipients of Outer Banks Community Foundation scholarships. Photo courtesy of OBCF.

OBCF is a huge part of that, but as Sawin points out, that’s because the foundation is “just standing in” for dozens of individuals who have organized their scholarship funds under the OBCF umbrella [see related story on Mya Murphy for the impact of two such awards].

A number of scholarship awards serve as memorials, both within OBCF and many of the dollars given out by other groups. It may come as a surprise to some that the small shop on the bypass bursting with boxes – OBX Shipping Center – gives out multiple awards each year. They are called the Jennifer Hahs Wall Memorial Scholarship in honor of owner Judy Hahs’ daughter, who lost a three-year battle with cancer at the age of 36.

“It’s really tough to lose a child, and what do you do with all those emotions and feelings and stress?” she asks.

Judy recalls listening to an expert on grief talk about finding ways to honor the person you’ve lost, and it didn’t take her long to hone in on education and the ways Jennifer managed to earn her degree from ECU.

“My daughter got through college with the scholarships and grants that she won. I was a single mom, so we didn’t have a lot of money and those scholarships were really important,” Judy says. “So we thought, ‘She was a business woman, and scholarships meant a lot to her education, so let’s do that.’ ”

This will be the fifth year awarding the scholarships in Jennifer’s memory. Most years there are four winners of the $1,000 awards, while last year there were five that the store was able to support. In the application, candidates focus on their academics and goals, of course, but also are chosen based on how they help others in the community – something Judy talks about from the stage when presenting the awards.

Fund establisher Greg Honeycutt with 2024 Ocracoke School senior Mariah Temple, recipient of the Greg & Eden Honeycutt Scholarship. Photo courtesy of OBCF.

“The candidates are just amazing. It’s very hard to pick the winners, but it’s nice to get to know the kids,” says Judy, adding that she often hears from the scholarship winners years later as they keep in touch about their academic pursuits.

In many cases, the folks setting up scholarships also want to target specific interests such as education or healthcare or even specific trades with awards that can be used at community colleges or trade schools.

Sawin points out that the Wayne and Betty Evans Scholarship Fund that helped Murphy on her path toward becoming a nurse was set up because Betty herself was a nurse … and received help along her educational journey. The idea of “paying it forward,” then, is also very much alive and well each scholarship season.

All told last year, OBCF was able to award $248,000 worth of scholarships to 80 students from 98 different scholarship funds. Tack on money from all the other local organizations, and it’s easy to see lots of tuition, books, dorm rooms and meal plans getting paid for.

Remarkably, establishing a scholarship fund might not be as daunting as you’d think. At OBCF, for instance, Sawin says they’ll work with anyone who wants to set up something, but the threshold for creating a named, endowed, renewable scholarship that will last for generations is just $25,000.

“A lot of people will start out with a little bit and they’ll contribute their funds until they can grow it to $25,000,” Sawin says. “As a community foundation, our job is to find solutions for anyone in our community, regardless of their means.”

Steve Hanf teaches the journalism program at First Flight High and has had a front-row seat to scholarship season for the last 15 years, both as a recommender for the students he teaches and a scholarship searcher for his two children in college.

Author: Steve Hanf

Steve Hanf is a former professional sportswriter who teaches the journalism classes at First Flight High School. The dormant Nike Running Club app on his phone offers a reminder of the seven half-marathons and one full marathon he completed … several years ago.