higher education

In an effort to encourage and celebrate scholastic achievement, the A. O. Smith Foundation announced the awards of 24 global merit scholarships to employees’ children pursuing higher education.

“Today’s scholars are tomorrow’s leaders,” said Mark Petrarca, secretary of the A. O. Smith Foundation Board and senior vice president of human resources and public affairs for A. O. Smith Corporation. “There is perhaps nothing more important than fostering young talent, and for us, that starts with recognizing and rewarding students’ achievements in the classroom to give them a little extra support as they pursue their futures.”

For 19 years, A. O. Smith has granted annual scholarships to students demonstrating superior academic performance, a high level of participation in school and community activities, work experience and honors. This year’s winners include both U.S.-based and international recipients.

U.S.-based recipients include:

• Jonathan Barrett – Johnson City, TN; attending Northeast State Community College
• Joshua Durbin – Lebanon, TN; attending University of Tennessee: Knoxville
• Jillian Ethridge – Franklin, TN; attending University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Abigail Haggard – Ashland City, TN; attending University of Tennessee: Knoxville
• Addie Harris – Cookeville, TN; attending Volunteer State Community College
• Amy Hix – Lebanon, TN; attending Western Kentucky University
• Abigail Kleiss – Lebanon, TN; attending North Carolina State University
• Samuel McDow – McBee, SC; attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Makenzie Neal – Ashland City, TN; attending University of Tennessee: Chattanooga
• Cameron Schaffner – Lebanon, TN; attending Cumberland University
• Emily Smith – Lebanon, TN; attending Cumberland University
• Michael Troka – Lebanon, TN; attending undecided

International recipients include:

• Yu Chen – Xuzhou, China; attending undecided
• Rocio Diaz – Juarez, Mexico; attending Universidad Tecnologica de Ciudad Juarez
• Tingxuan Guo – Nanjing, China; attending The University of Melbourne – Open Stage, Arts Center
• Manuela Barraza Hernandez – Juarez, Mexico; attending Instituto Tecnologico de Ciudad Juarez
• Chun-an Hsieh – Suzhou, China; attending Nanjing University
• Irem Karadeniz – Istanbul, Turkey; attending Uskudar University
• Michelle Pijpers – Veldhoven, Netherlands; attending Wageningen University & Research Centre
• Yu Sun – Xuzhou, China; attending Nanjing University
• Ruyang Wang – Nanjing, China; attending Brandeis University
• Yuyan Yao – Hangzhou, China; attending undecided
• Shuze Wang – Tianjin, China; attending Beijing Normal University
• Zihan Wang – Nanjing, China; attending  Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The A. O. Smith Annual Merit Scholarship program is open to the children of A.O. Smith employees in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia and India. To be considered, the student must be a graduating high school senior or currently enrolled in an undergraduate college or vocational school degree program. Scholarships help cover a portion of the tuition costs at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational technical school of the student’s choice.

Scholarships may be renewed for up to three additional years or until the recipient earns a bachelor’s degree. The A. O. Smith Scholarship program is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a program of Scholarship America® of St. Peter, Minnesota.