Apply for the Mary Johnston Scholarship Program by Feb. 1

The deadline to apply for the Mary Johnston Scholarship Program is only a week and a half away.

The OOIDA Mary Johnston Scholarship Program has helped dozens of truck drivers’ children pay for college.

Started in 1998, the Mary Johnston Scholarship Program has contributed $315,000 to 100 awardees, who are the children, grandchildren and legal dependents of OOIDA members.

Five scholarships are awarded each year, one $2,000 scholarship and four $1,000 scholarships. An alternate also is named each year.

The funds are transferred directly to the student’s selected institution and can be renewed for a total of four years. The funds can be used for tuition or any legitimate school-related expenses.

Applications and all required materials for 2020 scholarships must be postmarked no later than Feb. 1.

Each student must submit an application, 500-word essay on the topic indicated on the application and a transcript from high school or from an institution of higher learning. To learn more about how to apply, go here.

The students are selected in a blind evaluation conducted by the OOIDA Scholarship Advisory Committee.

Winners will be notified by a letter after OOIDA’s spring board meeting. OOIDA will verify enrollment and deposit the funds directly into the student’s account at the college or technical school of his or her choice. Funds will be available in the first week of August for each year.

Donations to the Mary Johnston Scholarship Program can be made here.

The Mary Johnston Scholarship Program is administered by the OOIDA Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational materials and conducting in-depth research into issues that affect truckers.

For 10 years, Shell Rotella has provided financial support for the program. Shell Rotella donated $10,000 to the scholarship fund for the tenth straight year. OOIDA and Land Line Magazine also are sponsors.

Here are the winners for 2019.

For a list of previous winners and to read testimonials, please go to this webpage.