Arkansas Town Offers Students Free College Education

Associated Press:

Prospects for the future changed significantly for many students at El Dorado High School on Monday with the announcement by an oil company that it is putting up $50 million for college scholarships in its working-class hometown over the next 20 years. Murphy Oil Co. said it wants to increase the number of students who attend college and perhaps attract new businesses to El Dorado, with the scholarships a selling point. It said it also hopes the program will help create better jobs here for students to come back to after graduating from college."This is a huge day. As of today, El Dorado High School graduates will have an unprecedented opportunity to continue their education," Superintendent Bob Watson told students."For some students, this is life-changing. Students who have worked hard, but would not have been able to attend college because of financial limitations, now have the means to do so."The program begins with this spring's graduating class. El Dorado High School has about 250 graduates each year, about 65 percent of whom go to college.Students gathered at an assembly screamed and applauded when the program was unveiled.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 1, 2007 6:24 AM
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