Georgia Southern University’s Student Government Association announced the John F. Nolan scholarship in last night’s meeting.

Nolan was a former dean of students at GSU and the award is an endowed scholarship in his name.

The Nolan scholarship is an annual award of $1000 given to five different students each year on Honors Day. This year for the first time, the scholarship is being offered to graduate students as well as all undergraduate students.

“This is the first year that we’re extending it to grad students, because lots of grad students are paying for grad school on their own, they can’t apply for HOPE so this can help them out a lot, financially,” Christina Belge, vice- president of SGA and junior public relations major, said. “The winners of the scholarship will be announced on Honors Day, which is March 4.”

The scholarship is open to all students with a 3.0 GPA, excluding graduating seniors, regardless of classification or major, Belge said.

“I think it’s important to recognize students of all majors. We want to reward good students and not limit them based on their year or major. As SGA, we’re here to help network information to students,” Belge said.

Applications can be found online on the SGA website and are due on Mar. 1. Application sections include service, growth, achievement and recommendations, Belge said.

“In the applications we’re looking for anything that helps us paint a picture of (the student). The service section is new and we added that because at GSU we’ve become really interested in service and giving back,” Belge said.

Although the scholarship has been in affect for many years, most students do not know about it, Ashley Fabor, junior education major, said.

“I love the fact that this scholarship is being mentioned in The George- Anne, because a lot of students don’t know that they may qualify for this scholarship and it never gets any publicity,” Fabor said.

SGA encourages all students meeting the requirements to apply. The final decision of applicants will be conducted by the scholarship committee, who will choose the most deserving students, Belge said.

Precious Lango, sophomore pre-exercise science major, said, “Regardless of your age or major, or whether or not you think you’ll get it, you should apply, because you never know. If you’re a good student, you might just get it.”