2023 Foundation Scholarship Breakfast

On February 28, Aiken Technical College Foundation (ATC Foundation) hosted its first scholarship breakfast since 2019. 

“It was wonderful to celebrate both the achievements of Aiken Tech’s scholarship recipients and the generous donors who make them possible. The event has not been held since 2019 due to COVID-19, and it’s a way to connect the community and donors to the students whose lives they are making a tremendous difference in,” said ATC Foundation Director Beth LaClair, Ph.D.

During the 2022-2023 academic year, there were 130 scholarships awarded to students, totaling more than $125,000.
Award recipients Lillian Brock, Brodee Stewart, and Ismat Hasan spoke at the breakfast. There were roughly 75 recipients, family and faculty and staff in attendance. 

Hasan, the Sand River Women’s Club Scholarship recipient, mentioned in her speech the reason the ATC Foundation scholarships are so important to older students like herself is because it “takes a lot of planning and juggling to even attempt going back to school”. The scholarship and support from the foundation and organizations she is involved in made it possible to return. 

“I was very fortunate to be awarded a scholarship through the Sand River Women’s Club for students who have chosen to go back to school after a gap. Receiving this scholarship reaffirmed my decision to come back to a technical degree program. Right then, I knew that I was on the right track. The next scholarship I received during the summer was through the South Carolina Nurse’s Association Foundation,” Hasan said. 

Stewart, the Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness scholarship recipient, explained the scholarship makes it “more possible and a lot easier” for the students to take care of other responsibilities by having classes paid for. 

“The scholarship impacted me by not having to stress too much about the financial aspect of school. That’s what scares people when you are in school, is how they are going to provide for your family and go to school full-time...,” Stewart said.

A limited number of program-specific scholarships will be available for the 2023-2024 academic year in the summer and will be found on the foundation’s website. Scholarship applications for the 2024-2025 academic year will open at the beginning of next year. 

More ATC Foundation scholarship information can be found on the website at www.ac.edu/Foundation/Scholarship.