Georgia HERO Scholarship Awarded to 200th Recipient

Georgia HERO Scholarship Awarded to 200th Recipient

Scholarship for Guard and Reserve Members who Served in Combat Zones

ATLANTA — Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Sgt. Casey Roberts is the 200th recipient of Georgia’s HERO Scholarship. HERO (Helping Educate Reservists and their Offspring) provides up to $2,000 per year to help qualifying members of the Georgia National Guard and U.S. Military Reserves, and their children, attend college. To qualify servicemen and women must serve at least 181 consecutive days in a combat zone.

“Every day Georgia’s men and women in uniform place themselves in harm’s way in locations like Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting our enemies and protecting our nation,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “All Georgians are proud of our soldiers and grateful for their service and sacrifice, and the HERO Scholarship is one expression of our thanks. I am delighted that Sgt. Roberts and so many other returning heroes are taking advantage of this opportunity to continue their education.”

Casey Roberts, a native of Statesboro, Georgia, is a health care specialist with the 648th Engineering Battalion. He served in Iraq from May 15, 2005, until April 20, 2006, and is pursuing an undergraduate degree at Georgia Southern University.

Since the first HERO Scholarships were issued in March 2006, a total of $395,700 has been awarded, helping 200 HERO recipients attend college in Georgia. One hundred and fifty-seven of the recipients are soldiers and 43 are children of soldiers.

The HERO Scholarship is available to Georgia residents currently serving in the Georgia National Guard or U.S. Reserves who were deployed to a combat zone on or after May 3, 2005, and who then served at least 181 consecutive days in the combat zone. These soldiers can receive up to $8,000 for four years of undergraduate study ($2,000 per academic year). Their eligible dependents can receive up to $2,000 per academic year for each qualifying 181 day period that their parent has served.

The eligible dependents of soldiers killed in action prior to the completion of 181 days are eligible for the HERO award. Soldiers evacuated from the combat zone due to injuries before the completion of 181 days are also eligible for the HERO award.

Recipients must attend an institution within the University System of Georgia or the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, or an eligible private college in Georgia. Eligible children must have been born before or within nine months of the beginning of their parent’s combat tour and be 25 years old or younger.

The Georgia General Assembly enacted legislation during the 2005 session establishing the HERO Scholarship Program. In March 2006 the scholarship was awarded to its first nine recipients, all children of qualifying service personnel.

“Our state provides several scholarship and grant programs to help Georgia students prepare for careers in the military,” said Tim Connell, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), the state agency that administers HERO, HOPE and other state and lottery-funded financial aid programs. “HERO is the first state program that specifically rewards Georgia soldiers for service in a combat zone. No financial aid award has ever been more richly deserved, and I hope that every eligible serviceman and woman will at least look into the benefits provided by the HERO Scholarship.”

More information about the HERO Scholarship, including full program regulations and an online application, is available at www.GAcollege411.org by clicking on the HERO link in the “For Students” section near the center of the homepage.

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