GRAMBLING STATE GETS $50K TO HELP STUDENTS
Thurgood Marshall College Fund and The Coca-Cola Foundation provide much needed assistance for first generation college students
By GSU Media Bureau
Grambling State University has received $50,000 from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and The Coca-Cola Foundation to support the Thurgood Marshall College Fund – Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship Program. Each year for four years, four students will receive $3,125 in scholarships that may be used for tuition, books, or housing for a total of $12,500. To be eligible for the scholarship award, students must be the first in their immediate family to attend college and maintain a 2.8 GPA on a 4.0 scale. 
During the second annual Eddie G. Robinson Sr. Leadership Lecture Series, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Coca-Cola representatives presented GSU President Rick Gallot and Institutional Advancement Vice President Marc Newman with a check to provide support to first generation students.
“At Grambling State, we try to ensure every student has the help they need to graduate,” said Gallot. “More than 90 percent of our students are eligible for some form of aid, and we are very grateful for partners like TMCF and Coca-Cola who help our students through scholarships, grants and other assistance.”
During the university’s Tuesday (Nov. 14) event, representatives from the Monroe Coca-Cola Bottling Company, a sales center of UNITED Coca-Cola Bottling Company, shared their support.
“We’ve been strong GSU partners for more than seven decades and we’re extremely happy to see our parent company leaders contribute to this important institution just as we have,” said Keith Biedenham, sales center manager with the Monroe company. “Our company invested $260,000 earlier this year to the Bring It Home campaign, and this is another indication that the Coca-Cola stands with HBCUs, and GSU is the leader in our community.”
“The Thurgood Marshall College Fund values the tremendous impact of our corporate partners like Coca-Cola who help us fund much-needed student scholarships at Grambling State and all of our 47 member-schools,” said Johnny C. Taylor Jr., TMCF’s president and CEO.
Newman said the $50,000 in scholarships will help several GSU students the next few years. “We really appreciate The Coca-Cola Foundation and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and their investments in and partnership with Grambling State University as we build a good future together.”
###
