MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Scholarship funds from the Arkansas State Plant Board are helping four agriculture students attend Southern Arkansas University who had serious doubts about paying for college otherwise.
Dr. Jim Tollett, chair of SAU’s agriculture department, said the $5,000 was split between the four students he selected based on their need and because they had not received any other scholarships. This is the first year SAU has been awarded scholarships from the Arkansas State Plant Board, Tollett said.
Recipients of the scholarship include Emily Harrod, a freshman agriculture business major from Hermitage, Ark.; Marrissa McKinney, a sophomore agriculture science/pre-veterinary major from Sheridan, Ark.; Aaron Jarvis, a freshman agriculture business major from Lufkin, Texas; and Michael Tallman, a freshman agriculture business major from Mineral Springs, Ark.
“They all wanted (the scholarship) and stayed on me about it, calling me every week,” Tollett said. “I knew every one of them by their first name.”
Funds to support the scholarships are derived from civil penalties collected by the Arkansas State Plant Board. People found out of compliance for any number of issues, ranging from not having correct contents of seeds listed or incorrectly completing paperwork, are found to be in violation and charged fees which are then put into the scholarship pool.
“We are a regulatory agency so we are never the good guys, but the fines from these violations let us turn around and do something good,” said Darryl Little, director of the Arkansas State Plant Board. “Hopefully this will keep some kids in agriculture.”
The Arkansas State Plant Board contributes scholarships to Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Southern Arkansas University and the University of Arkansas System, Little said.
Each student has their own personal story about how the scholarship touched their lives.
Harrod said after making a decision to go to school in Atlanta, which she regretted two weeks after her arrival, she was left without much hope of being able to pay her school. She said her parents were disappointed in her decision and did not understand how much agriculture meant to her.
“All my funds were taken away when I decided to come here, but the scholarship pretty much fixed me being able to pay for college,” Harrod said. “I like the city, it has a lot of fun shopping and stuff, but there were no four wheel riding and no country. The country is big part of my life and being here is great, I love it.”
Another student, Tallman, said that his college funding was also difficult to come by because his father wanted him to go to community college and prove himself before transferring on to a four year university.
“Now I get to come here and prove to my dad that I can do it,” Tallman said.
Jarvis, who also received a scholarship, said the funding coming through was just another factor that led him to believe he was supposed to be at SAU. He had considered a larger university closer to his hometown, but ultimately said he wanted to be involved in a program where it was easier to get around the campus and get to know everyone one.
Having the burden of paying for college the complete burden of her single mom made Marissa McKinney glad to have a scholarship. Otherwise, she or her younger sister, Tiffani McKinney, would have had to sit out a year of school.
“Now she is getting to start school too,” Marissa McKinney said.
