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A Mountain Home High School graduate and his wife are investing in future generations of scientists and engineers, establishing a $100,000 endowment for STEM education.
Larry and Kathy Choate’s donation to the Mountain Home Education Foundation (MHEF) will fund both student scholarships and teacher grants focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics at Mountain Home Public Schools.
“My progress through life was on a steadily rising course, all based on education,” said Larry Choate, a 1964 MHHS graduate. After receiving a Hallmark Card Foundation scholarship, “my chart was practically straight up after that. That scholarship enabled me to attend my first choice college and inspired me to learn at the highest level.”
The endowment will fund up to four $1,000 scholarships annually for MHHS students excelling in STEM fields. Recipients must demonstrate strong academic performance and community involvement. The scholarships will be paid in two installments during students’ freshman year at any accredited college or university.
“The whole point of this is that an educational scholarship can be the most pivotal point in a person’s life,” Choate said. “I was a lucky one who earned the opportunity and ran with it. My wife of 50 years Kathy and I want to help provide that inspiration to others by endowing the Choate Family Scholarship to be awarded perpetually to a promising student or students at MHHS who are willing to put in the work in the STEM fields.”
Beyond scholarships, remaining funds will create the Larry and Kathy Choate STEM Educational Grant for teachers and STEM-focused projects. Priority will be given to the district’s robotics program, followed by other STEM initiatives.
“My personal opinion is that STEM education is and will be the most critical link in ensuring the continuing prosperity of the United States of America,” Choate said. “Hopefully, these students will receive the boost they need to achieve, like us, their American Dream.”
The MHEF scholarship committee will select recipients. Applications are open at mountainhomeeducationfoundation.com/traditional-scholarship.
The endowment adds to existing opportunities like the Mountain Home Promise, which covers the remaining tuition at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home after other scholarships and grants. The Promise does not cover fees, books or supplies. Students can learn more at mountainhomeeducationfoundation.com/promise.
The Mountain Home Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization raising funds to enhance student education. MHEF supports educational programs for students and staff while funding activities not covered by normal operating budgets. The foundation works to increase private support and expand community involvement from individuals, businesses and civic organizations.
For more information about the Mountain Home Education Foundation, visit mountainhomeeducationfoundation.com or contact Executive Director Mollie Morgan at [email protected].
Christopher Fulton is an award-winning investigative journalist and U.S. Navy veteran living in Arkansas. Fulton graduated from the University of Memphis in 2020 summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. After seeing a void in Mountain Home’s local news market, he founded the Mountain Home Observer and currently serves as the online newspaper’s publisher and news reporter.
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