Hanna Grad Earns Byrd Scholarship

Larissa Brdar, valedictorian of T.L. Hanna High School’s Class of 2010, is one of 102 recipients statewide of the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships, a program that promotes academic excellence using federal funds. 

The scholarships in the amount of $1,500 yearly are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate studies at in-state and out-of-state colleges and universities. In addition to 2010’s new recipients, the program is funding 304 continuing scholarship students.

The program is administered by the State Department of Education, using an annual allocation from the U.S. Department of Education.  Federal funds amounted to $594,000 including both new and continuing stipends. 

There were more than 360 Byrd scholarship applications in South Carolina.  Eligibility requirements include: 

● Students must be enrolled in the 12th grade (senior class) in a public, private or home school in South Carolina and become a high school graduate during the 2009-10 academic year (by June 2010). 

● Students must have a minimum of 1300 on the SAT (combined verbal and math score only) or a minimum of 29 on the ACT. 

● Students must have a minimum of a 3.5 GPR computed on the Uniform Grading Scale. 

● A school or home-school association screens and selects applicants.

The scholarship program is named for the late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia and is designed to recognize exceptionally able high school seniors who show promise of continued excellence in postsecondary education. Federal officials estimate that over 7,300 new scholarships will be awarded this year, with total new scholarship funding amounting to $11,022,000.