Three seniors from Greenville High School soared above the rest to surface as the cream of the crop, winning the prestigious and much coveted Blount Scholarship'.

The scholars will begin classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this fall.

"We are extremely proud to have three award-winning Blount Scholars in our school," said Principal John Black. "These are some of the finest students I have ever seen, and the Wynton Blount Scholarship is one of the most prestigious awards that can be given."

The three recipients, Shinette Boggan, 17, Tatiana Richards, 17, and Rodney Wilkerson, 18, are all well regarded by the staff and administration at Greenville High School.

Virginia Stallings, teacher at Greenville High School, had good things to say about the students.

"Tatiana is a highly creative student; she is the president of the senior class, and is deeply respected by students and faculty alike," Stallings said. "Rodney n I am so proud of him. He started out with difficulties, manifested by a learning disability n but not only did he overcome those difficulties, he surpassed all other students for the award.

"Rodney is a wonderful leader and a shining example for the other students

he goes that extra step for everything.

"Shinette works very long hours, as do Tatiana and Rodney

all three work long hours, juggling their school work with part-time employment," Stallings said.

Wilkerson, the son of Mrs. Betty Wilkerson, has two older brothers, both older than himself. He is the first in his family to be going to college.

"The interviews were held in Tuscaloosa," said Wilkerson. "It was a full day of interviews."

"After the application process, we submitted three essays, and then we had to wait for notification," said Richards. "Once the notification came, we were scheduled for interviews in Tuscaloosa, which were conducted by a panel of 15 professors," she said.

"The interviews involved topics such as philosophy, politics, religion, humanities and other general topics," said Boggan. "They actually started as simple topics, which progressed to be quite complex once we elaborated on them."

"They (professors) went probably five depths further into each question, asking things like: how do you define the truth,' and they stressed complex issues on all levels of questioning," said Boggan.

"They wanted to see how we unified our plans with ideas," said Richards.

"The Blount Program offers up to $7,300 in scholarships," said Stallings.

"It was such an honor to be accepted," said Wilkerson. "We will be staying in the Blount Dormitory

they are very luxurious suites, for example, each suite has its own bathroom, whereas, most dorms have common bathrooms for each floor."

"We should all be so proud of education here in Butler County," said Stallings. "There has been so much progress in the systemalthough we still have several hurdles to overcome, we have already come a long way."