Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — May 14, 2025 — The Kiwanis Club of Greater Jonesboro awarded its B.H. “Pop” Parrish Scholarships to six high school seniors from three local school districts during the club’s monthly meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
All students are graduating seniors who will attend Arkansas State University in the fall. Three scholarships were for $500, while the other three were for $3,000.
Kiwanis Club scholarship committee chairman Sid Banks, who introduced the recipients and their awarded scholarships, noted the amount of work the committee puts into selecting their recipients, including traveling to the different schools and hours of interviewing all the applicants.
“We want to know a little bit about them. What they do volunteer-wise, what they’ve done academically, and what they do socially in order to award our scholarships,” he said. “We have some really outstanding students to give money to this year.”
According to Kiwanis Club membership chairman Roy Ockert, the first B.H. “Pop” Parrish Scholarship was presented in 1955 as a four-year $250-a-year award to a Jonesboro High School graduate. However, it was later changed to a one-year award to students from three high schools and the award amount has increased over the years.
He added that the scholarship program is the primary beneficiary of the annual Kiwanis Club of Greater Jonesboro Pancake Breakfast, which is held the first Saturday in March. He said the club has given away more than $250,000 in scholarship money.
Recipients of the 2025 B.H. “Pop” Parrish Scholarships are listed below:
Hiedy Robinson, daughter of Nick and Sherrie Robinson, was awarded a $3,000 scholarship.
“This scholarship, earning it was very special to me. It made me feel very honored,” Robinson said afterward. “I plan to go to A-State and major in exercise science to be a physical therapist and the scholarship is really going to help me achieve that goal.”
Isabella “Izzie” Stanton, daughter of John and Kristy Stanton, was awarded a $3,000 scholarship.
“I plan to study public relations and communications at A-State next year,” Stanton said. “This will give me the opportunity to be a voice and work with lots of nonprofits. This scholarship was a huge honor and will help me tremendously as I start this new journey. I seriously couldn’t be more happy. It’s really made me feel seen as a student, not just based on my academic works, but also my community involvement as well.”
Jonesboro High School senior Marco Cisneros was awarded a $500 scholarship. Cisneros was not in attendance for comment.
Madilyn Mae Kifer, daughter of Phillip and Elisa Kifer, was awarded a $3,000 scholarship.
“I’ve started working as an EMT, so I’m planning on going to A-State for nursing and then going on to medical school,” Kifer said, noting her family’s history in the medical field. “Medical school is insanely expensive. The scholarship is going to help a lot with that so I can actually afford to do it.”
Gavin Ellis, son of Brian and Angie Ellis, was awarded a $500 scholarship.
“The scholarship means a lot. I know we had 50 to 100 applicants in Valley View to go for the scholarship, but to be one of the three selected at our school really does mean a lot. I’m really thankful for it,” Ellis said. “I plan on going to ASU and majoring in something business related. I also may try to get my real estate license my first year in college too. I plan to use this money for books and necessities for college and I’m really thankful for this opportunity and privilege to have this scholarship.”
Jacob Wewers, son of Justin and Courtney Wewers, was awarded a $500 scholarship.
“My plan for the future is to go into business administration at A-State,” Wewers said. “This scholarship means the whole world to me. When I was doing the interview, it was very nerve wracking, but I did it although I completely thought I bombed it. The fact they were gracious enough to give a couple extra scholarships out to us to spend means the world and I couldn’t be more thankful about.”
Nena Zimmer is the Chief Reporter at Jonesboro Right Now. You can reach Nena via email at nzimmer@jonesbororightnow.com
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