For more than a century, the SCBA has been blessed with the strong support of its member institutions and their employees. The Bankers Association believes offering scholarships to deserving children of bank employees helps demonstrate both its appreciation to member banks and their employees. It also serves as a means for building a path to a better, more prosperous South Carolina.
The SCBA understands that many students today often find themselves burdened by significant debt upon graduation. By offering scholarships to children of bank employees, the SCBA seeks to help students pursue higher education while also laying the foundation for the next generation of South Carolina’s leaders. Each Palmetto Scholarship awards $1,000.
Additionally, the SCBA Board of Directors is honoring the memory of two members of the South Carolina banking family whose lives were tragically taken during a bank robbery in 2017. We have established two $2,500 scholarships named after Katie Skeen and Donna Major of CresCom Bank. The Palmetto Scholarship Committee will select two individuals from the pool of applicants who will receive the “Katie Skeen Palmetto Scholarship” and the “Donna Major Palmetto Scholarship.”
The 2020 Palmetto Scholarship Winners were unable to celebrate with our annual reception, but were very grateful from home!
Click here to view photos of 2020 Palmetto Scholarship Winners
2020 Palmetto Scholarship Winners
Ameris Bank
Rachel Anderson, child of Teresa Anderson
Scott Samson, child of Brian Samson
Anderson Brothers Bank
Payton Barnhill, child of Tina Barnhill
TJ McCoy, child of Tim McCoy
Bank of America
Hannah Elia, child of Vincent Elia
Adam Baker, child of Charlotte Baker
Cassey Nicholl, child of Cheryl Nicholl
Kasey Peterson, child of Michelle Peterson
Chamberlin Glover, child of Felicia B. Bell
Sophie Steele, child of Terry Steele
Mims Stewart, child of Melissa Albergotti
Joe Lassiter, employee of Bank of America
Bank of Clarendon
Brynne Baxley, child of Lisa Reed
Bank of Travelers Rest
Kayelin Talley, child of Christopher Talley
Kailyn Wilkey, child of Kathy Wilkey
Bank of York
Abby Good, child of Beverly Good
Carolina Bank and Trust
Caroline Falcone, child of Brian Falcone
Coastal Carolina National Bank
Ryan Riedinger, child of Marjorie Riedinger
Eugene Rocco Utley, child of Maura Utley
Community First Bank
Kathleen Champagne, child of Jennifer M. Champagne
Countybank
John Ross Cooper, child of John Wesley Cooper
Morgan Roberts, child of Christopher Roberts
CresCom Bank
Carley Blackwell, child of Christy Blackwell – Winner of $2,500 CresCom Scholarship
Riley Cook, child of Maury Cook – Winner of $2,500 CresCom Scholarship
Shane Peters, child of Helen Peters
Enterprise Bank of South Carolina
Lauren Allison Arabis, child of Deana Bailey
First Citizens Bank
Boyce McCool, child of Gerald McCool
Kamryn Walker, child of Jonathan Walker
Evan Groth, child of Steven J. Groth
Morgan McCrary, child of Vicki McCrary
Delta Pennington, child of Dori Pennington
First Community Bank
Riley Branham, child of Charlie Branham
Rachel Hair, employee of First Community Bank
Andrew Lyon, child of John Lyon
First Palmetto Bank
Amya Thrash, child of Sheila Thrash
First Reliance Bank
Jordan Whitfield, child of David Whitfield
Allie Kyber, child of G. Neal Kyber
Isaac Smith, child of Catherine Smith
Will Kenan, child of Kemper Kenan
GrandSouth Bank
Milli Barbrey, child of Traci T. Barbrey
Security Federal Bank
Sophia Washburn, child of Ken Washburn
South Atlantic Bank
Austin Siau, child of Daniel Frank Siau
Rhyan Morgan, child of Amanda Morgan
Olivia Suggs, child of Tiffany Platt Suggs
South State Bank
Eli Goodwin, child of Marty Goodwin
Wallace Townsend, child of Frank Townsend
LeighAnn Faulkner, child of Robert Faulkner
Sidney McLaughlin, child of Ellen Cammer
Jade Huang, child of Nancy Cox
Ashley Walker, child of Christie Walker
Amy Petrolawicz, child of Lee Petrolawicz
Taylor Grace Pearson, child of John Pearson
Kaila Gleaton, child of Tammy Ballenger-Gleaton
Southern First Bank
Hew Kneeland, child of Matt Kneeland
Delaney Dowling, child of Mike Dowling
TD Bank, N.A.
Jenna Sulkowski Sulkowski, child of Daniel Sulkowski
McKenna King, child of Kelly King
Jacob Koenemann, child of Mary Koenemann
Aditya Pradhan, child of Preeti Pradhan
Andrew Hunt, employee of TD Bank, N.A.
Jess Grillo, child of Amber Beck
Vedanti Patel, employee of TD Bank, N.A.
The Bank of South Carolina
Jonathan Stone, child of Traci Stone
The Citizens Bank
Julianna Keller, child of David Keller
The Peoples Bank
Ryleigh Davis, child of Nakia Davis
Andrew Warren, child of Katherine (Kitty) Warren
UCBI
Madeline Durrell Durrell, child of William Durrell
To be considered for a SCBA Palmetto Scholarship students must:
- Be a resident of South Carolina;
- Be a rising junior or rising senior in COLLEGE, in South Carolina (must be an accredited four-year college or university in South Carolina);
- Have a parent/legal guardian who lives in South Carolina and works for a SCBA member bank, bank holding company, or wholly owned subsidiary in South Carolina OR [the student] be a part-time employee at a member bank working a minimum of 20 hours per week;
- Have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
- Be active in his or her school and community, demonstrate a solid work ethic, and possess strong leadership abilities, good teamwork and a desire to succeed; and
- Submit a resume and letter of recommendation from a dean or professor when completing the online application. Part-time employees of a member bank must have a letter of recommendation from senior management.
The submission process for consideration in the SCBA Palmetto Scholarship involves:
- Completing the electronic application (handwritten and/or incomplete applications will not be processed),
- Upload a resume, and
- Upload a letter of recommendation from a dean or professor. (Part-Time Employee: a letter of recommendation from Sr. Management)
How to Apply
Applications are accepted January – March of each year. THE DEADLINE TO APPLY IS NOW WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020! The application will close at the end of that day. To apply, the student will click on the application link at the top right of this page.
Once the application closes each year, the Scholarship Committee will review and grade all applications and the students will be notified in the spring. A dessert reception and check presentation will be held in May. Stay tuned for more details on that event!
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the SCBA Palmetto Scholarship, please contact Caroline Snijders by emailing csnijders@scbankers.org or calling (803) 779-0850.