Darwin & Becky Merrill provide scholarships at Marshalltown Community College
MARSHALLTOWN – Local residents Darwin and Becky Merrill started a scholarship at Marshalltown Community College three years ago, because they see MCC as a great asset to the area, particularly for students who cannot easily fund post-secondary education with savings, grants or scholarships.
Four Darwin & Becky Merrill Scholarships have been awarded for 2021-2022, with each scholarship being $2,500, which is approximately enough to pay for 12 credit hours at MCC. To be eligible, the applicants should be registered full-time at MCC, have a 3.0 GPA, be a Marshall County high school senior or graduate, and demonstrate financial need. Each applicant also submitted an essay explaining how the scholarship would assist the student in achieving his or her personal and employment goals.
Students selected include, alphabetically, Itzary Avalos, Dakota Curley, Jovanny Tellez and Cindy Mora, all of Marshalltown. One of the recipients, Jovanny Tellez, explained in his essay how he views MCC as a stepping stone to his goal of attending Iowa State University to study engineering. He said his experiences in the community with both the robotics team and National Honor Society at MHS have helped create a firm connection to Marshalltown and enhanced his desire to continue to help individuals and society at large with engineering solutions to improve lives.
For the Merrills, they feel fortunate to have been successful in their endeavors and find the scholarship assistance as a rewarding way to help area students along their path to their own personal success.
As always, donors wishing to contribute to or establish scholarship funds are encouraged to contact MCC Foundation Executive Director Carol Geil for more information at 641-844-5747 or carol.geil@iavalley.edu. Gifts to the MCC Foundation are always tax-exempt.