GIVING BACK

After graduating from Etowah High School in 1980, studying chemical engineering at Auburn University and becoming one of the top thoracic surgeons in the San Francisco area, Dr. James Hood decided to give back to his home community by offering a scholarship to an Etowah student looking to pursue engineering at Auburn.

He approached the school in 2016 to work out the details of the scholarship, which would provide full tuition for a student who meets the scholarship’s criteria and had a financial need.

However, Etowah didn’t have any students who qualified for the award that year. Instead of scrapping the idea or lowering the criteria, Hood and Attalla City Schools administrators decided to find a way to help students rise up to meet the requirements.

Hood planned to offer incentives to teachers who trained to coach students to achieve better ACT scores, which factor heavily into college acceptance and scholarship qualifications.

He also has offered incentives to students in the form of gift cards when they completed a pre-AP or AP math or science class. The funds that would have been used for the first year’s scholarship were used to fund an ACT prep course for EHS students.

In 2017, Etowah had a qualifying student receive the inaugural James and Kelly Hood scholarship. In 2018, another senior was recognized with the award.

This year, however, more than one student was recognized for their hard work, and all will be given an opportunity to attend Auburn through the Hoods.

Senior Miranda Haney received the four-year scholarship, which she said would be put to good use when she studies at Auburn. The scholarship will cover tuition for four years, at a cost of about $25,000 per year.

“It’s definitely a blessing,” Haney said as hugged her mother and grandmother following the awards ceremony.

However, Hood said that he and his wife, Kelly, were so impressed with the other three candidates that they worked to find a way to help them attend Auburn as well.

Britain Nance, CJ Young and Marcos Mandujano each received a freshman scholarship that will cover the majority of their first year at Auburn.

Each will have to contribute $1,000 to their tuition and apply for FAFSA and any other scholarship funds to foot the bill, as well as agreeing to a simple room and board program and completing a 10 hour per week work study. They also will need to pursue the Auburn Co-op job program, which prepares students for a career by combining academic courses and full-time work experiences in the field. Following their freshman year, a good connection with the Co-op program could provide funding to help them move forward at the university.

Just as winners from previous years have been required, Hood wrote that they ask each winner to “make their bed every morning, first thing, and give their Mom a hug and flowers on Mother’s Day.”

While Hood was not personally present to honor them, the students were recognized during the Etowah High senior awards ceremony in the school’s gymnasium on Friday. The four were honored alongside the rest of their class as teachers, public officials and college recruiters awarded $2.2 million in scholarships to the seniors.

In a statement, Hood said the incentive program he and the school put in place seems to have worked. Having four students qualify for the award this year is a significant improvement compared to 2016, when none qualified.

Etowah Principal Dr. Stephen Hall said he and the school appreciate that Hood continues to give back to alma mater.

“That was highly motivational to our kids. Any help we get to inspire our kids to reach for their greatest potential, we are grateful for,” Hall said following the awards ceremony.

He said that the school has seen students achieving more across the board since AP programs were implemented.

“[Dr. Hood] has provided a component, a motivator for those kids to be involved in those programs and then a reward for their completion of it,” he said.

“He’s a great man,” Haney’s mother, Charity Sampson, said.

The principal added that Hood’s scholarship shows off one of EHS’s biggest strengths.

“Our graduates continue to be a part of supporting our kids,” he said. “Once a Blue Devil, always a Blue Devil.”