ATLANTA – Twenty-one Stamps Scholars from Mercer University will be among 730 students in attendance at the fourth biennial Stamps Scholars National Convention, April 7-9, on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The weekend event is sponsored by the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation to benefit the nationally prestigious merit scholarship program that helps exceptional students become leaders throughout society. Launched in 2006 by Georgia native Roe Stamps and his wife, Penny, the program has grown to include 42 partner schools throughout the country.
Scholars attending this year's convention will have the opportunity to learn from some of the country's most renowned leaders, including Teach For America CEO Elisa Villanueva-Beard and former Georgia Tech President and Secretary Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institute G. Wayne Clough.
The convention also provides a platform for Scholars to learn from one another through discussion of some of the great challenges facing the world today. This year's topics include “Mental Health in the 21st Century,” “Living in an Energy Crisis” and “The Future of Human Space Exploration.”
The event will also feature a service challenge – “Consulting for Social Good” – that aims to apply Scholars' knowledge to real-life obstacles often present in today's nonprofit organizations.
“Whenever I speak with our Stamps Scholars, they talk about the value of getting together with driven and talented peers and learning from them,” said Roe Stamps. “Seeing what these amazing young leaders are doing, and realizing what they will achieve later in life, is inspiring.”
Stamps Scholarships are generous multi-year scholarships that include enrichment funding for study abroad, internship or research opportunities. Currently, the Stamps Foundation and its partners provide scholarship support to 930 Scholars, with a projected goal to help educate 5,000 Scholars in total. There are 455 Stamps Scholar alumni around the world who continue to benefit from various professional and social networking opportunities.
Stamps Scholars are leaders both on campus and beyond graduation. Stamps Scholar alumni are among the recipients of prestigious awards including Rhodes, Fulbright, Goldwater, Truman and Schwarzman scholarships.
For more information, visit http://www.stampsfoundation.org.