DOBSON — In the past seven years, more than $4.3 million has been provided in scholarships from the Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation to Surry County students.

For the first time this year, the foundation also awarded scholarships to Surry Community College (SCC) students going on to four-year institutions to complete their degrees as well as students from Elkin, Mount Airy and Surry County schools.

This year 55 scholarships were handed out at a reception Tuesday afternoon at Surry Community College.

The Armfield Foundation was represented by Steve Joyce, executive director, who spoke about Edward Armfield’s history and his passion for students looking to further their education.

“He had a real heart for students who wanted to go to college but could not afford it,” he said.

The application process is lengthy and includes filling out financial information for the College Board to determine if students are financially eligible for the scholarship as well as filling out an application which is reviewed by committees at each high school and at the college to determine the finalists. The applications of the finalists are then sent to the foundation’s scholarship committee which picks the recipients.

In order to continue to receive the scholarship, students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average throughout their college careers.

“We are all so proud of these students,” said Deborah Friedman, president of SCC. “It’s not just about their academic achievements. They were doing it while they had part-time jobs, while they had leadership roles and extra-curricular activities. These students represent a future that we can be proud of.”

Recipients of this year’s set of scholarships received $9,000 if they plan to attend a private college, $5,000 if they plan to attend a public college and $3,600 if they plan to attend SCC.

The following students were recognized as Armfield Scholars for 2009-10.

- Elkin High School: Rhiannon Childress, Jarel Duncan, Bethany Eaton, Ashley Pack, Brian Rector and Andrew Steiner.

- Mount Airy High School: Aaron Culler, Michael Culler, Katalina Eubanks, Nathan Hager, Venecia Lopez, Mary McCullough, Susana Sanchez, Kathryne Welborn and Natalie Younger.

- East Surry High School: Kristina Benton, Emily Burr, William Hall, Chelsea Hooker, Ashley Horn, Jonathan Mikels, Ashley Nichols, Joshua Tally, Blake Tickle and Kaitlyn Tunstall.

- North Surry High School: Jenna Enfield, Stephanie Fulk, Robert Hunter, Shone Kuykendall, Heather Lane, Brandi Reynolds, Jonathan Shelton, Dakota Southern, Austin Warren and Savannah Whitaker.

- Surry Central High School: Zachary Barth, Emma Belcher, Jose Loeza Belmonte, Raul Belmonte, Kristie Combs, Jaylynn Cropps, Karla Moreira, Lacy Schmidt, Jordan Snow and Whitney Sprinkle.

- Surry Community College: Christopher Bowman, Matthew Burnette, Hannah Comer, Kendra Crotts, Julie Henson, Jordan Jessup, Bridget Key, Peggy Newman, Christopher Sneed and Megan Wood.

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.