Catawba College’s Student Government Association has set aside a portion of its annual budget to help students fund travel to academic conferences. All students will have the opportunity to complete the online application (at www.catawba. edu/SGAapp) for up to $250 annually to help cover transportation, conference registration and hotel expenses.
According to 2012-2013 SGA Executive President Jana Burkhardt of Wake Forest, “the SGA decided to approve this recommendation because we wanted to first and foremost help our student body reach its highest potential. Providing such scholarship funding will do three major things: improve learning opportunities for students, broaden curriculum to include essential out-of-the-classroom experiences, and build a positive reputation about Catawba. As stated in the recommendation, the mission statement of the college emphasizes career preparation, something that is a key component of academic conferences.
“We all have a passion for this school,” Burkhardt continued, “and we want other organizations to have the opportunity to see why. This allocation set aside specifically for academic conference scholarships will show potential students, faculty and members of our college Board of Trustees that Catawba’s students have an interest in making their education the best it can be.”
Burkhardt explained that three students who will serve as SGA executive officers during the upcoming year, Treasurer Leah Constan-Tatos of Johannesburg, South Africa, Secretary Justin Smith of Greensboro, and Vice President Christian Crifasi of Ramseur, presented the scholarship idea last year. The then SGA Executive Board asked these students to bring their suggestion as a recommendation before the Student Congress. The congress approved, amending the SGA constitution to apportion some of the SGA budget on an annual basis for funding student travel to academic conferences.
Students who apply for the academic conference scholarships will need a faculty sponsor to complete a portion of the online application. After the applications are received, a committee of faculty, students and staff members will review the applications and make the scholarship allocations. If a student applies one semester and only needs a portion of the full scholarship, then they may apply for the remaining funds for another event during the next semester.