The Alworth Memorial Fund is a private foundation whose sole purpose is to provide scholarships to high school seniors who plan to major in math or science pursuing a STEM career.

Awards

High school seniors awarded the scholarship will be eligible to receive $20,000. The award will be distributed over eight semesters ($2,500 per semester) providing recipients meet the following requirements: cumulative GPA of 2.85 as a freshman and a 3.0 for subsequent years, continue to major in an approved mathematics or science field of study, and 35-50% of total credits taken each semester must be in math and science.


Eligibility


To be considered for a scholarship, applicants must:

  • be a U.S. citizen graduating from a high school in one of the following Minnesota counties: Aitkin, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Lake, Itasca, Koochiching, and St Louis.

  • have a composite score of 25 or higher on the American College Test (ACT). (SAT scores not accepted.)

  • be pursuing a 4-year degree. This includes those who begin at a community college.

  • have a high school cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.

  • commit to major in one of the designated fields of study.

  • have demonstrated qualities of character, perseverance and ambition.

  • have a high scholastic standing among their peers.

  • be from a family whose taxable income (IRS 1040, page2) is less than $125,000.

  • one letter of recommendation from a Math or Science teacher.


Fields of Study

The Alworth Scholarships support full-time students in these fields of study: Aeronautics, Agriculture, Animal Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Clinical Laboratory Science, Computer Science, Dietetics, Engineering, Environmental Science, Forestry, Genetics, Geology, Mathematics, Medicine, Meteorology, Neuroscience, Nursing (bachelor degree programs only), Occupational Therapy, Osteopathy (DO), Paper Science, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physics, Pre-Engineering, Pre-, Medicine, Pre-Occupational Therapy, Pre-Pharmacy, Pre-Physical Therapy, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Robotics, Soil Science, Speech and Hearing Science, Statistics, Teaching Classical Mathematics, Teaching Basic Science, Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Management and Zoology


Start at: http://www.alworthscholarship.org

Deadline: January 15th

Alworth Memorial Fund launches fun and informative

'STEM Talks with Professor Alworth' online video series

High school students with interests in STEM fields, but who are uncertain of what to expect in college and beyond, now have a friend they can turn to for insights 24 hours a day.

She's Professor Alworth, who chats with northern Minnesota STEM students in a series of fun and informative video features that launched Oct. 11 at

www.AlworthScholarship.org/STEMtalks.html. "STEM Talks with Professor Alworth," each about 10 minutes in length and featuring recent Alworth Scholarship recipients, confirm that many STEM students had the same apprehensions current high school students might have - including being surprised they'd quality for a $20,000 scholarship.

"Teachers and guidance counselors do a great job of preparing STEM students for college, but when those students hear it from others who are about their age, who had the same excitement and fears, it really hits home," said Alworth Memorial Fund Executive Director Patty Salo Downs. "These videos not only paint a realistic picture of college life, they hopefully inspire young people to aim high in STEM careers."

One of the first two "STEM Talks with Professor Alworth" now online features Babbitt's Lori Huseby. Currently in her senior year at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, where she's studying math, chemistry and computer science, she talks about her internship with NASA and how she almost didn't apply for the Alworth Scholarship.

The other initial "STEM Talks" video includes two students - Joel Gustafson of Hermantown, who attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Luke Heine of Cloquet, who attended Harvard. Their freewheeling discussion about computer science being a playground is as entertaining as it is informative, and shows us that nothing is unattainable - including attending top-tier academic institutions.

Future segments will include one about a student who turned his knowledge of car repair into an engineering career, and another about a student whose love of the outdoors led to her becoming a research biologist. Additional "STEM Talks" videos are being produced frequently, with new ones being added to the Alworth website each month.

While the students in the videos are real, Professor Alworth is actor Victoria Main, a Superior resident who has performed professionally from Duluth to New York City.

"The word 'professor' is often intimidating to young people, so we created Professor Alworth to be approachable and a little quirky to put high school students at ease," said Salo Downs. "We want them to succeed, and we can help with that process by encouraging them to apply for an Alworth Scholarship."

The Marshall H. and Nellie Alworth Memorial Fund awards scholarships to students with interests in pursuing a bachelor's degree in mathematics or scientific fields of study. The Fund is available to students in high schools, plus those who are home schooled, located in these 10 northern Minnesota counties: Aitkin, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Lake, Itasca, Koochiching and St Louis.

Since its establishment in 1949, the Fund has distributed $52 million among 5,200 motivated young people. Its web address is www.AlworthScholarship.org.