Paige Mayberry, 17, of Van Buren, has won a $1,000 Tommy Parks Memorial Scholarship to help underwrite her studies at Three Rivers College. The scholarship is administered by the Three Rivers Community College Foundation.
Mayberry, who is working toward a TRC associate degree in nursing, is a 2017 graduate of Van Buren High School, where she was active in Beta Club, Science Club and Future Business Leaders of America. Outside of school, she participated in blood drive and highway cleanup projects.
She is the daughter of Amanda and Todd Mayberry, of Van Buren.
"I will be the first person out of my family to go to college," Mayberry wrote in her scholarship application essay. A big motivation has been "witnessing my mother struggle to support me and my brother," she said. "Going to college and getting a degree means I will have a job that will allow me to support myself and be responsible."
The Tommy Parks Memorial Scholarship is granted each year to Three Rivers students from the proceeds of an annual nine-ball pool tournament that has earned more than $110,000 over the past two decades. The tournament is sponsored by Newman Amusement Inc., Luecke Distributing Co. and semi-retired bail bond agent Marion Parks, father of the late Tommy Parks, a former Three Rivers student who died in an auto accident in 1993.
The TRCC Foundation is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt corporation offering donors substantial tax deductions for their contributions. The foundation administers numerous scholarships and special projects that benefit Three Rivers College and its students. For additional information, contact Executive Director Judith Scott at (573) 785-3743.