The St. Johns County Education Foundation, which operates as Investing in Kids (INK!), has announced that scholarship applications for the Class of 2024 are open. Local graduating seniors attending St. Johns County public high schools can apply online for a variety of scholarships. Go to apply.ink-stjohns.org for eligibility requirements and criteria under the Senior Scholarship tab. The deadline to apply is Saturday, March 23.
“INK! is currently accepting applications through our online scholarship portal to assist graduating seniors with the cost of attending post-secondary education or career training at college, university and technical schools,” said Cathy Newman, INK!’s executive director. “The online system has been streamlined this year to include two types of applications which are based on need and merit.”
INK! oversees a wide variety of scholarships totaling more than $50,000 in awards ranging from $1,000 to $3,800 including the following:
- Tanner Gillespie Memorial Firefighter Scholarship will provide up to $3,800 in tuition, books and fees to a St. Johns County high school senior who wants to pursue a career in firefighting. The scholarship is named after and honors a Jacksonville firefighter and St. Johns County graduate who died in an off-duty accident in November 2023.
- Rays of Hope Foundation Scholarship offers a merit-based award of $1,000 to a St. Johns County public school senior attending an accredited vocational or technical school in Florida. The 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serves those in need throughout North Central Florida with charitable assistance for the development, education and well-being of young people.
- Wayne Hartley Memorial Scholarships For The Academies will provide up to six awards in the amount of $1,000 each to graduating seniors pursuing post-secondary education. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in an academy at one of three local high schools, including Allan D. Nease High School, St. Augustine High School and Pedro Menendez High School. Established in memory of Dr. Wayne Hartley, a well-respected St. Johns County educator, Hartley Memorial Scholarships will be awarded to two students at each school.
- Jack Hamilton Wheeler Memorial Scholarships offers three scholarships in the amounts of $2,500, $2,000 and $1,500 to students pursuing college or vocational schools in the fall of 2024. The scholarship honors the memory, life and legacy of Jack Hamilton Wheeler, a senior at Creekside High School, who lost his life in a tragic accident in 2019.
- David Toner Scholarship awards a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior in St. Johns County who will attend Florida State University in the Fall of 2024. The applicant must demonstrate the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
- Tucker McCarty Health Science Scholarship provides a $1,000 scholarship to a student graduating from the UF Health+ Academy of Medical and Health Careers at Pedro Menendez High School.
- MacDonald Family Education Scholarship will award a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior enrolled in Bartram Trail High School or the teaching academies at Creekside High School, Ponte Vedra High School and St. Augustine High School. The applicant must be a graduate who plans to pursue a post-secondary degree in education or to become a teacher.
- Lieutenant Colonel Sally MacDonald Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior who is an active member of a Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps (JROTC) program in a St. Johns County public school providing tuition equal to 30 credit hours at a Florida public state college. The scholarship is needs-based and available to students whose families meet the required income eligibility.
- Investing in Kids Jumpstart Scholarships will award up to six need-based scholarships with the value equal to tuition for 30 credit hours at a Florida state college. The scholarship is needs-based and available to students whose families meet the required income eligibility.
For more information, go to the INK! Senior Scholarship information page online at apply.ink-stjohns.org. Students can also submit applications in paper form to INK! or through public school guidance counselors by the March 23 deadline. For more information or to request a paper scholarship application form, contact Jim Wheeler, INK!’s Director of Operations and Students Programs, at 904-547-7121 or email James.Wheeler@stjohns.k12.fl.us.
To establish a memorial scholarship, donate to INK! in support of scholarship opportunities for St. Johns County students, and learn more about scholarships or other programs operated by INK!, contact Cathy Newman at catherine.newman@stjohns.k12.fl.us or 904-547-7120.
