Eleven high school seniors visited LCU in February for two days of rigorous interviews and activities related to presidential scholarship selection.  The F. W. Mattox Scholar Award program awards five full scholarships annually to outstanding seniors who excel in academics, leadership, and virtue.  The program began in 2015 with an initiative of President Tim Perrin.  “We are grateful that the president sees the importance of full scholarships for academic excellence and see this move as another indicator of the LCU’s continuous improvement,” notes Honors Dean Stacy Patty.  “As our vision statement aims, ‘We will be a leading Christian known for its academic excellence and its commitment to faith that seeks understanding.'”

An interdisciplinary faculty committee, joined by the Dean of Students, reviews applications and selects the finalists.  Selected from more than forty applicants, the finalists hail from a variety of school settings throughout Texas and New Mexico.  All eleven will receive scholarships ranging from 70% tuition to full tuition, room, and board.  The finalists are listed below.

Top row:  Mason Cunningham (Frenship High, Wolfforth TX) and Carson Price Cooper (Klondike High, Lamesa TX)

Second row:  Jaiven Thompson (Slaton TX Home School), Shelby Ahlgrimm (Arlington High, Arlington TX), and Alys Bruton (Abilene Christian School, Abilene TX)

Third row:  Emily Baum (Frenship High, Wolfforth TX), Samantha Blount (Shallowater High, Shallowater TX), and Alexis Denbow (Tascosa High, Amarillo TX)

Bottom row:  Riley Nicks (Canton High, Canton TX), Emily Gray (Tascosa High, Amarillo TX), and Rachel Ghormley (Estancia Valley Classical Academy, Sandia Park NM)