The Bearcat Foundation continues to pursue goals of partnering with the Mena Public
Schools with assistance in areas of equipment, facilities and supplies. Thanks to the
generous members and supporters, since 2007, BFI has given over $530,000 to the
Mena Schools. A very important part of their mission is to provide a scholarship for
graduates of Mena High School, and today, they are happy to present the BFI
scholarship for the 12th year.
The Foundation scholarship differs from others in that it is scored and judged on a blind
basis. All applicant’s names, family names, and commonly identifiable accomplishments
are omitted from the application once received in an effort to eliminate any possible bias
in the scoring process. The applicants are scored based: academic achievement, community involvement, extracurricular achievement,
and the compelling nature of the essay that is written for the scholarship.
The committee is anonymous and does not consist of any foundation board members.
All scoring is done separately by each member of the committee. The scholarship is
$2,000 per student.
This 2024 winners of the Bearcat Foundation Scholarship are: Hailey Emerson and
Caroline Cannon.