James Stephen Greenwood Memorial Scholarship Fund

Purpose: To provide college scholarships to high school seniors and to students currently enrolled in accredited four or two-year colleges who hold current Amateur Radio operator licenses.

1. At the time of their application:
   1. be classified as a senior in a school accredited by the Texas Education Agency;
   2. reside, and have resided for at least one complete school year, in any county in the State of Texas;
   3. hold an Amateur Radio operators license issued by the Federal Communications Commission;
   4. be a U.S. citizen, or within three months of becoming a U.S. citizen;
2. Maintain at least a regular membership in the ARRL during the term of the scholarship grant.
3. Preferences will be given to high school applicants ranked in the top 5%-10% of their class.

Additionally, preferences will be given to high school applicants who can demonstrate regular Amateur Radio activity and/or community service involvement.

1. At the time of their application:
   1. be enrolled in accredited four or two-year college;
   2. be a graduate of a high school located in any county in the State of Texas;
   3. hold an Amateur Radio operators license issued by the Federal Communications Commission;
   4. be a U.S. citizen, or within three months of becoming a U.S. citizen;
   5. maintain at least a regular membership in the ARRL during the term of the scholarship grant.
2. Undergraduate and graduate students are both eligible to apply.
3. Preferences will be given to college students ranked in the top 10% of their class.
4. Preferences will be given to college applicants who can demonstrate regular Amateur Radio activity and/or community service involvement.
5. While there is no required GPA for first time applicants, returning applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0-point scale.

1. The number of scholarships will be based on the earnings of the Greenwood endowment.
2. Priority in the award of scholarships will be given to students who are or will major in science, technology, engineering or math disciplines (“STEM Applicants”);
3. If any scholarship funds are left after awards to STEM Applicants, the remaining funds will be allocated in the order of the class of an Amateur Radio applicant’s license with priority being given first to Extra Class license applicants, then to General Class license applicants and lastly to Technician Class license applicants;
4. Scholarships will only be awarded to applicants that meet requirements;
5. Once the annual scholarship funds are exhausted, no further awards will be made for that calendar year;
6. No applicant is guaranteed a scholarship;
7. The decisions of AARC as to the award of scholarships are final;
8. Scholarships are for the exclusive use of the scholarship winner to be applied to tuition, books, fees and other educational expenses;
9. Awarded scholarships will be dispersed to the scholarship winner’s college of choice for use by the scholarship winner;
10. Austin Amateur Radio Club, Inc. does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, military status or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law in the award of scholarships.

1. The Greenwood Scholarship Committee has awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships to students at all levels of higher education, including college undergraduates, Master’s programs, Doctoral programs and Postdoctoral studies over its initial five years of existence.
2. The increase in number of awardees led to  slow award check distribution in 2024. We want to be much more responsive in scholarship awards in 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year.
3. Given the continued and increasing popularity of the Greenwood Scholarships, the scholarship committee feels it’s time to re-evaluate the criteria used to make the awards.
4. The current plan is to open up scholarship applications later this year than in the past, currently planned to be March 1 instead of the former January 1, to give the scholarship committee more time to develop new criteria and update our systems to support the new criteria.
5. It’s currently envisioned that the former application end date of June 30 will be retained.
6. It’s anticipated that the most successful Greenwood Scholarship applicants for 2025 will not only have their Ham license of any level, like in prior years, but also show increasing progress in the Ham service/hobby over the years.
7. For example, if an applicant held a Technician class license last year, have they upgraded to a General license? If they held a General license have they upgraded to Amateur Extra? Are they an active member of their local club? Have they been elected to an officer position in their club? Have they participated in Ham contests? Field Days? Other Ham activities such as sporting event Ham support? Have they earned awards such as WAS (Worked All States)? Have they activated a location such as a National Park (POTA) or an unusual geographic location? And other similar Ham activities.
8. Applicants who show advancement in the Ham service/hobby will have preference over those who merely hold a Ham license.
9. The Greenwood Scholarship Committee will publish this year’s finalized criteria by the March 1 open-application date.