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AND FAMILY CREATE MICHAEL J. FRENCH, JR. SCHOLARSHIPS
Fund established in memory of engineering student from Virginia
Beach
First recipients announced
VIRGINIA
BEACH, Va. – (Aug. 3, 2005) – Tidewater Community
College’s Engineering Club and the family of Michael J.
French Jr. have established a scholarship fund for engineering
students.
The first recipients of the Michael J. French, Jr. Memorial Engineering
Scholarships are Donald Elliott, Alicia Ann Saringer and Christa
Parren - all of Virginia Beach, and Douglas Mejias from Newport
News.
Each student will receive $500 toward expenses for their TCC education.
The Michael J. French, Jr. Memorial Engineering Scholarship Fund
was established to provide financial assistance to excellent TCC
students pursuing careers in engineering. The fund is in memory
of TCC student Michael French who passed away Aug. 29, 2004, after
a two-year battle with leukemia. TCC’s Engineering Club
and Mike’s parents, Michael French Sr. and Norma French
of Virginia Beach, came together to honor him through a scholarship
for fellow engineering students.
Mike French, a very active engineering student at TCC who struggled
to overcome his illness while completing engineering courses,
served as an inspiration of hope and leadership for all who knew
him. He served as the TCC Engineering Club president during the
2001-2002 academic year and eagerly led the club in competitions,
community service and fundraising events. He was part of a team
of nine TCC engineering students to travel to Montreal where their
autonomous vehicle captured third place in the 2002 ASEE Model
Design Competition. Mike also provided leadership for a team of
25 TCC engineering students that built a huge structure out of
over 9,000 cans of food as part of the nationwide CANstruction
competition. The structure was a memorial to the victims of the
9-11 tragedy and the food was later donated to the local food
bank. Mike French’s commitment to the engineering program
at TCC serves as an excellent example for future TCC engineering
students.
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Laurie White |
Media Relations |
757-822-1085 |
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Tidewater Community College
is the second largest of the 23 community colleges in the Commonwealth
of Virginia, enrolling more than 36,000 students annually. The 37th
largest in the nation’s 1,600 community-college network, TCC
ranks among the 50 fastest-growing large community colleges. Founded
in 1968 as a part of the Virginia Community College System, the
college serves the South Hampton Roads region with campuses in Chesapeake,
Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach as well as the TCC Jeanne
and George Roper Performing Arts Center in the theater district
in downtown Norfolk, the Visual Arts Center in Olde Towne Portsmouth
and a regional Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach. Forty-four
percent of the region’s residents attending a college or university
in Virginia last fall were enrolled at TCC. For more information,
visit www.tcc.edu
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