Berea College Launches Pinnacle Scholar Awards Recognizing Outstanding High School students in Science, Music and Service

The winners will be invited to attend a special event at Berea College on Oct. 10 that will celebrate students’ academic and extracurricular accomplishments during a luncheon and awards ceremony.  The winners will also have the opportunity to meet with faculty members and current students studying science or music or who provide service to the community.  Additionally, the College will provide overnight accommodations for the student and two guests on Oct. 9.

“It’s important that we encourage and celebrate the achievements of the youth in our region, especially in the areas of science, music and service that may be vulnerable to cost-cutting measures by school districts in challenging economic times,” says Luke Hodson, Berea’s director of admissions operations.  “We hope this recognition and experience at Berea will inspire these students to continue to excel in these areas of interest.”

Berea College has long had strong programs in the sciences and performing arts as well as award-winning service learning programs.  Notable Berea alumni in the sciences include Dr. John Fenn, ’37, who won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Dr. Samuel Hurst, ’47, a physicist who developed touchscreen technology.  Distinguished musicians include Clyde “Red” Foley, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Billy Edd Wheeler, a member of the Nashville Association of Songwriters Hall of Fame, whose songs have been performed by Johnny Cash, Neil Young and Elvis Presley.  Berea’s Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS) coordinates a variety of student-led service programs and community outreach activities and works to integrate service into the academic curriculum.  These service-learning activities have been recognized nationally their excellence, including being named to the 2008 U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

Nominations are due by September 8, 2009.  To nominate a student or for more information please visit www.berea.edu/pinnaclescholars or call 800.326.5948.

Berea, the South’s first interracial and coeducational college, focuses on learning, labor, and service. Berea charges no tuition, admitting only academically promising students, primarily from Appalachia, who have limited economic resources. All students must work 10 hours weekly, earning money for books, room and board. Graduates from Berea distinguish themselves and the college in many fields, living out the college’s motto “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.”