John Edwards for President-Edwards gives out $300,000 in scholarships at rural N.C. school

Edwards gives out $300,000 in scholarships at rural N.C. school

May 19, 2006 4:47 PM

Mike Baker
Associated Press
May 19, 2006

SNOW HILL, N.C.

Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards honored a promise Friday he made at the beginning of the school year, handing out $300,000 in scholarships to pay for the first year of college for more than 100 students at a rural high school in eastern North Carolina.

Administrators at Greene Central High School say his pledge helped nearly double the number of college-bound seniors.

"We chose this county and this school because we saw the potential," Edwards told students at a crowded awards ceremony Friday.

The "College for Everyone" program covers the college bills of high-school seniors who complete a college prep or college tech course in high school, refrain from using drugs or alcohol, and don't get suspended or commit a crime.

In Greene County, an impoverished community 60 miles southeast of Raleigh, 70 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch, and an average graduating class in years past sent just a quarter of its students to college.

"When you come from a rural North Carolina background _ where I come from _ your inertia is not to go to college," said Edwards, who grew up in Robbins, about 140 miles west of Snow Hill.

Recognizing that inertia five years ago, school administrators began meeting with parents and demanding that students declare their college intentions as early as middle school. Last year, 40 percent of Greene Central's graduates enrolled in college, up from about 25 percent the previous year.

This year, 80 percent of Greene Central roughly 140 seniors have applied to a post-secondary school, and 70 percent have been accepted, something that officials consider remarkable improvement _ and something they couldn't have done without Edwards' incentive.

"College for Everyone has come along with the final piece to make it happen for these students, because most of these students wouldn't have gone to college without help," said Steve Mazingo, superintendent of Greene County Schools.

Senior Maria Pulido is one example of a student who may been left behind. Not only is she the first in her family to go to college, she's the first to graduate from high school. Her parents live in Mexico, awaiting citizenship, leaving Pulido to find her way alongside her brother.

"I was wondering how I was going to go to college," said Pulido, 18. "But with this opportunity, I know I have a secure future."

Pulido will attend Lenoir Community College in Kinston to study computer programming, with hopes to eventually transfer to the University of North Carolina.

Since his failed bid two years ago as the running mate of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, Edwards has traveled the nation advocating programs to relieve poverty while considering another run at the executive office. Edwards originally designed the "College For Everyone" program as a government initiative, but settled on establishing the Greene County project as a prototype for future efforts.

It's already growing. With overwhelming support from private contributors who financed the program, Edwards extended his college scholarship plan Friday to a second class of students in Greene County.

"This is a model of what we could and should be doing for the whole country," Edwards said.