As part of the Second Century Campaign, Darlington has made a bold commitment to build on and expand endowment for merit-based scholarships through an Honor Scholars program.
This program will provide a versatile tool to recognize and attract exceptional young people to Darlington, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Honor Scholars will exemplify honor and service through their community work; have a deep desire to grow, lead, learn and impact their world; and be unparalleled in academic excellence.
“What’s most exciting is that the Honor Scholars program will ensure that the transformative experience of a Darlington education is within reach of any academically qualified student,” said James Milford, associate headmaster and director of admission. “This will be a catalyst to build a more robust alumni referral program, thus ensuring that the best and brightest students are introduced to Darlington.”
The program, a joint venture between the school’s Admission and Advancement offices, will be successful only with the help of the Darlington community at large. Alumni, in particular, will play a vital role in selecting Honor Scholarship recipients.
“We are looking to our alumni throughout the nation to serve as ambassadors in identifying prospective student scholars and as interviewers during the selection process,” said Joe Montgomery, chief advancement officer.
The selection process will include three stages. First, candidates will be nominated by a third party (i.e. alumni, parents of alumni, current teachers, counselors and independent education counselors). Candidates must be incoming freshmen. After an initial screening by the Scholarship Committee, a select group of nominated students will be interviewed by a Darlington alumnus/ae in their local area who will provide feedback to the Scholarship Committee. Last, Darlington will invite those recommended as honor scholars to campus for a scholars’ weekend program and interviews during the winter. Scholarship decisions and awards will be made and communicated immediately following the scholars’ weekend.
Honor Scholarships will cover full or partial tuition as well as books and material fees. Each year, two full-tuition Honor Scholarships will be awarded to one boarding and one day student. Full scholarship recipients will also have the opportunity to participate in a six-week internship the summer before their senior year.
“These internships will align with the students’ individual interests,” Montgomery said. “We will rely heavily on our expansive network of alumni and friends to help us identify and develop meaningful opportunities for these students. If you know of an interesting opportunity, please contact the Alumni Office and share it with us. We’d love to hear from you.”
Each full scholarship recipient will also be eligible for a Mastery Award, which would be set aside to help the student fund development in an area in which he or she has an intense passion. All Honor Scholarship recipients will also receive admission to a scholar leader retreat designed to teach leadership through participation.
To remain eligible for the program each year, recipients must maintain a high GPA and clean disciplinary record with no major violations of the school’s policies; attend scholar leader retreats when offered; attend the annual scholar donor dinner; serve as an active spokesperson for the school; and attend alumni events/calling nights to support the Honor Scholars program.
Darlington’s Admission Office is currently accepting nominations for the first round of Honor Scholarships, which will be awarded for the 2012-13 school year.
Over $4 million has already been raised for student support through the Second Century Campaign and fully funding the Honor Scholars program will require an additional $5 million.
“This is a significant component of the campaign and our Campaign Cabinet members are working hard to secure funding for this exciting program,” Montgomery said. “If you would like to make a gift that will help transform the lives of future Darlington students, please contact us and we will be glad to talk to you about your options.”
There are several ways to participate in this program:
1. Nominate a worthy student for the Honors Scholars program online at www.darlingtonschool.org/nominate. The deadline for nominating students is Jan. 1, 2012.
2. Participate in the interview process.
3. Make an outright gift to the campaign designated for the Honor Scholars program.
4. Endow a named scholarship.
• Full scholarship for a resident student ($600,000)
• Full scholarship for a day student ($300,000)
• Named scholarship, partial ($100,000)
• Named family fund ($25,000)
For more information, contact the Second Century Campaign staff at campaign@darlingtonschool.org.
