Matt Valleau, president of Phi Sigma Kappa chapter at Ferris State University, has established a new scholarship available to incoming freshmen.
Valleau, a senior from Traverse City studying Public Relations, said the idea came to him while attending a regional conference for Phi Sigma Kappa at Purdue University last January.
“I wanted to establish a scholarship because it is a great way to get our organization more involved with the university and work with them to help benefit future students,” he explained.
The Phi Sigma Kappa Emerging Leadership Scholarship was established to recognize incoming first-year students who have demonstrated leadership, involvement and a strong academic record while in high school. The fraternity members hope that by emphasizing these merits and the importance of being a well-rounded student, applicants will continue their tradition of involvement throughout their career at Ferris.
“We have some outstanding freshmen, student leaders on campus who have the potential to emerge as the future voices of leadership at Ferris,” Valleau said.
Valleau and other members Phi Sigma Kappa worked with Carla Miller, associate vice president of Advancement at Ferris, to finalize criteria and the language of the application.
Applicants must be incoming freshmen with a high school grade point average of at least 3.5, have demonstrated financial need and submit a resume and 500-word essay on the importance of being a well-rounded student. More information about the scholarship including the application deadline, its requirements or the application can be found on the financial aid website at https://www.ferris.edu/admissions/financialaid/scholarship/index.htm.
The fraternity’s long term goal is to have the scholarship fund endowed so that permanent funds can be made available on a recurring basis.