Merle Hinkle High School Seniors Scholarship

Criteria & Requirements

Kelly Community Federal Credit Union awards scholarships annually to graduating high school students selected from applicants within our field of membership who meet the following eligibility requirements.

Our 2024 application is now closed. Please come back next year. 

 

Criteria and Requirements

 

Must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Applicant must be a graduating high school senior.
  2. Applicant must be a member* in good standing of Kelly Community Federal Credit Union (KCFCU), and/or be related to an immediate family member in good standing at KCFCU. (Immediate family is defined as: spouse, father/mother, father-in-law/mother-in-law, sister/brother, sister-in-law/brother-in-law, son/daughter, step-parent, step-siblings, step-children, grandparent/spouse’s grandparent.) A minimum of 180 calendar days of KCFCU membership is required prior to date of application.
  3. Applicant must maintain a cumulative minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) in high school coursework. High School transcripts through the fall semester of the application year will be required with application. Home-schooled graduating seniors must provide an original, notarized copy of their transcript.
  4. Applicant must plan to attend an accredited 4-year college or university, a 2-year accredited community college, or an accredited technical school.
  5. Applicant will be judged based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:
    1. GPA
    2. Academic Achievement
    3. Community Involvement
    4. Leadership
    5. Letters of Recommendation
    6. Essay
  1. Upon evidence of the chosen scholarship recipient’s enrollment and/or acceptance into an accredited technical school, college, university, or community college for the Fall 2023 semester, the scholarship funds will be paid by Kelly Community Federal Credit Union to the school where the student is enrolled to attend.
  2. Scholarship funds awarded must be applied toward tuition and other customary fees and/or charges associated with registration for classes at an accredited technical school, college, university, or community college for the two semesters immediately following the applicant’s high school graduation. (Please Note: If the school the scholarship recipient is attending provides all funds necessary to attend [i.e. one of the U.S. military academies] the recipient is not eligible to apply for, or receive, funds from the Kelly Community Merle Hinkle Scholarship.)
  3. Selection of scholarship award recipients will be determined by a judging committee made up of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, one other Board Member, and the CEO of the Credit Union.
  4. The application must be typed.
  5. The applicant’s essay must be typed, double-spaced, and a word count of 500-1,000 words.
  6. Deadline for receiving the completed application is Sunday, March 24, 2024, 11:59 PM CST.
  7. Scholarship winners agree to allow Kelly Community Federal Credit Union the right to publish or display their name, photo, school name, city of residence, and their essay for public relations purposes.

*KCFCU employees, officials, and their immediate family members are not eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Recommendations

Attach three written recommendations. Recommendations cannot be from a family member and one must be from a teacher.

Transcripts

Attach an original copy of your high school transcript (including Fall semester grades of Senior year). Home-schooled graduating seniors must provide an original, notarized copy of their transcript.

Essay

The Kelly Community Merle Hinkle Scholarship was created to honor Mr. Hinkle’s legacy of volunteerism to deserving organizations and the community. Attach an essay explaining your volunteering experiences over the past four years, and what impact or influence your volunteering experiences have had on your life and future plans. Please detail the outcomes of your volunteer experiences and what they have meant to you. (Essays must be 500-1,000 words; typed, double-spaced)

Application Submission

Completed Application, Recommendations, Transcripts, and Essay must be completed at www.kellycommunity.org

All information must be included in the submission package and date stamped by our system by Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Scholarship Submission Checklist

Please make sure the following have been included in your submission package:

  • Completed Online Application
  • Typed Essay (1,000 words maximum)
  • Three Recommendation Letters
  • High School Transcripts
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