The Scholarship Committee of Mid-South Engineering recently selected Nathan Westerman to receive a $6,000 scholarship for the upcoming school year from the Roy and Betty Murphy Family Endowment Fund.
According to a news release, the fund was established in 2003 by Betty J. and Roy L. Murphy Sr. to award scholarships to employees and children, stepchildren or grandchildren of the employees of Mid-South Engineering, headquartered in Hot Springs.
Following the company’s growth, scholarships have also been awarded in its offices in Cary, North Carolina, and Orono, Maine.
“Since 2003, $453,545 has been awarded due to the Murphy family’s generosity and belief in the education of its employees and their children. Unlike most scholarships, they are renewable each year up to a period of four years,” the release said.
To be chosen for the scholarship award, the student must have merit and the potential to succeed and be a post-high school or GED graduate. The scholarship can be for customary college expenses, including room, board, tuition, fees and books at institutions, including licensed trade schools, vocational schools and accredited colleges within the United States.
Westerman is a 2025 graduate of Fountain Lake High School who plans to attend the University of Arkansas at Monticello, majoring in forestry. With his degree, he plans to become a surveyor, and his aspirations are to connect his passion for drones and technology with his love for the forest, the release said.
Renewal scholarships were also awarded to Julia Jett and Nancy Coffman. Jett attends the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, majoring in exercise sports management. Coffman attends Arkansas Tech University, majoring in emergency management and homeland security.
The Arkansas Community Foundation helps families, companies and individuals set up scholarship funds to benefit Arkansas students seeking higher education.
Donors partner with the Community Foundation to create private scholarship funds and determine the size and eligibility criteria for the scholarships they create. Currently, over 700 scholarships are managed by the Arkansas Community Foundation on their behalf, the release said.
For more information, contact Joyce Whitfield, Hot Springs Executive Director, at [email protected] or call 501-372-1007.
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