Conner Scholarship Application Deadline Approaches
Updated: Mar 1
Trooper Kevin Conner ended his watch on Oct. 17, 2018, but the officer left behind a legacy of helping and caring that extends to scholarships given out in his name every year.
March 31 is the deadline for applications for the Trooper Kevin Conner Memorial Scholarship and the Trooper Kevin Conner Blue Line Legacy Scholarship. The grants go to students in both Columbus and Bladen counties.
The memorial scholarship is for $5,000, and students must be a high school senior from the Whiteville City School district, the Columbus County School district, the Columbus Christian Academy, or the Bladen County School district. Applicants must be both a legal resident of the U.S. and the county where they attend school.
They must also have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, be a leader in their communities who have participated in community service and/or volunteer activities, must have been accepted at an accredited four-year university for a full-time status of 12 or more credit hours, and plan to start school in the fall of the award year.
There are two rounds of judging. The first round is based strictly on the scholarship application and is anonymous. Judging is completed by the scholarship committee and the highest scoring applicants will be invited to an interview for the second round of the scholarship selection process. The decision of the committee is final.
The Blue Line Legacy Scholarship is awarded to two applicants, and they are worth $1,500 each. Recipients must be a high school senior in this state and must be a dependent son or daughter of a current, full-time, or commissioned law enforcement officer in North Carolina. Students must be a U.S. citizen and a resident of the state. The applicants must have been accepted to and have plans to attend an accredited community college or four-year university in the United States.
To be considered for the grant, students must record an original video describing their future career plans, how being the child of a law enforcement officer has impacted their life, and how the scholarship would enable them to fulfill future goals. The recipients must also describe the ways they have given back to their community through volunteerism and service.
The video must have a creative title and a run time of two to four minutes. It must be submitted in the form of .mov, .mpeg, or .mp4.
Any students interested in applying for either of the scholarships can do so at https://kevinconnermemorial.org/scholarship/. Other requirements and submissions for the grants can also be found on the website.
Born in Bladenboro, Conner’s life-long dream was to be a state trooper. That dream came true in 2007. He was assigned to Troop B in Columbus County where he made his home with his wife Miranda and his two children Briley and Braxson. He was killed in the line of duty in a traffic stop south of Whiteville.
The Trooper Kevin Conner Memorial Foundation was established in 2019 in efforts to give back and serve the communities that Conner loved and served.