IMPACT Cookeville has achieved its goal of reaching $100,000 for the Isaac and Amanda Bohanon Scholarship for Tennessee Tech students.
IMPACT President Jasen Knight said the scholarship came about from a desire to honor two people who do so much in education, especially for Black students in Putnam County. He said the funds are extremely beneficial to not only the Black community, but Putnam County as a whole.
“I know a lot of other organizations in the area are wanting to focus on the same thing, ‘How do we keep our brightest and best talent here,'” Knight said. “And with the rules of this endowment, we’re not only reaching some of the African-American students here who could use the help financially to go to university, but we’re also making sure that they go to the local university, and we’re trying to encourage them to stay here when they graduate.”
Knight said the scholarship is looking for African American students from the area who attend Tennessee Tech. He said the $100,000 endowment goal began in 2015, but that other students have received scholarships through this funding before now. This year marks the 4th time the scholarship has been awarded.
While the Bohanon scholarship is the first offered by IMPACT, Knight said the organization hopes to grow its scholarship opportunities in the future.