MACON – This fall, Mercer University welcomed five incoming freshmen as part of the University's sixth class of Stamps Scholars and the 12th class overall for the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation and its 40 partner institutions across the country.
Mercer's newest Stamps Scholars include Srividya Ganapathy from Duluth, Georgia; Emily Vu from Rockwall, Texas; Joseph Muldrew from Statesboro, Georgia; McPherson Newell from Augusta, Georgia; and Shailey Shah from Chattanooga, Tennessee. With the addition of this sixth class, 19 Stamps Scholars will be on the University's Macon campus this fall.
“Students selected to be a part of the Stamps Scholars Program are of excellent character and demonstrate the desire to combine research and service learning and to use their gifts and talents to solve many of the world's problems,” said Stephen Karafa, associate director of admissions and recruitment and Stamps Leadership Scholars coordinator. “Mercer's mission is to produce graduates who are well-rounded individuals and who will utilize their Mercer education to make substantial and lasting change within their fields of study. We are excited to see what the future holds for these exceptional students.”
Stamps Scholars are chosen for their strong leadership potential, academic merit and exceptional character. The Foundation supports promising students who are eager to make their contributions to the world and have the work ethic to make their dreams a reality.
This year's incoming class of Scholars, selected from almost 400,000 applicants nationwide, is made up of 224 students with diverse academic interests including biomedical engineering, public policy, medicine, music and education.
The Stamps Scholarship covers all expenses for four years of undergraduate study and also includes a monetary enrichment fund that Scholars can use for their academic and professional development. Other benefits of the scholarship include participation in a national day of service; access to a growing network of scholars and alumni; and opportunities to attend biennial conventions, where Scholars are able to network with one another and learn from recognized leaders. Stamps Scholars are known for their significant contributions to their campuses.
“Stamps Scholars are academic leaders on campus,” said Dr. David Davis, director of fellowships and scholarships and associate professor of English at Mercer. “Our current scholars have an exceptional record of accomplishments, and we have very high expectations for the incoming class.”
Fifty Stamps Scholars have won nationally prestigious academic awards to further both undergraduate and graduate studies. These include Fulbright, Gates Cambridge, Goldwater, Marshall, Rhodes, Truman and Schwarzman scholarships.
Beyond graduation, Stamps Scholars continue to distinguish themselves in their professional and graduate careers. Stamps alumni are working with top companies and organizations such as Google, McKinsey & Co. and NASA and pursuing graduate degrees at prestigious universities such as MIT, Stanford and Oxford.
E. Roe Stamps IV, who was raised in Macon and is a graduate of Stratford Academy, and his wife, Penny, established the foundation in part to help exceptional students realize their dream of achieving a college education.
“We're very excited about this new class of Stamps Scholars,” said Roe Stamps, founder and chairman of the Stamps Foundation. “A hearty congratulations to Mercer and our other partner schools for selecting and attracting such a wonderful group of students.”
About The Stamps Family Charitable Foundation
In 2006, Penny and Roe Stamps created merit scholarship programs for undergraduates at their alma maters – The University of Michigan and Georgia Tech. Since then, the Stamps Scholars community has grown into a nationwide network of colleges and universities with more than 1,600 current and alumni Scholars. Learn more at StampsFoundation.org.
