Contact: Melissa Reifert
June 22, 2007

Three MECC Students Receive First-Ever White Williams Scholarship

Last fall, the Mountain Empire Community College Foundation announced the creation of the White Williams Scholarship to assist Lee County students. Now, three students have learned that they are the first recipients of the scholarship, each receiving a $1,000 award.

Scholarship recipient Whitney LeAnn Estep, a Lee High School graduate, is following a science track at MECC toward her goal of one day becoming a pharmacist. Recipient Jarad Anthony Gibson, who graduated from Thomas Walker High School, is a nursing major with aspirations in the surgical nursing field. Recipient Autumn Leigh Osborne, also having graduated from Lee High, is majoring in computer software specialist. Each student will receive their scholarship award beginning with the fall 2007 semester.

The White Williams Scholarship encourages students who have physical disabilities to pursue a college education to enhance their self-sufficiency. This endowed scholarship was created by Judy and Reed Williams in memory of Reed’s brother, White, who suffered paralysis from birth. The Williams own and operate Old Virginia Hand Hewn Log Homes in Lee County.

Picture Caption: (Front row, left to right) Autumn Leigh Osborne, Jarad Anthony Gibson, and Whitney LeAnn Estep are the first recipients of the White Williams Scholarship at Mountain Empire Community College.

(Back row, left to right) Reed and Judy Williams, with MECC Vice-President of Institutional Advancement Donna Stanley, created the scholarship in memory of Reed’s brother, White.

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