By: Shayla Terry

Frances Ackerman, a recent Luverne High School graduate will start college in the fall with a few scholarships under her belt, one being the W. O. Parmer Scholarship based out of Greenville.

Ackerman was the only person from her class that could apply for the scholarship, as it requires students to attend the University of Alabama, Auburn University or Vanderbilt University.

“My counselor, Heather Sanders, brought it to us,” Ackerman said. “I said this year I was going to any scholarship that I found. I figured if I got them it would be great, if I didn’t there wasn’t any harm in trying.”

The Parmer Scholarship comes with a list of requirements in order to apply, as well as an interview with the Board of Examiners.

“The scholarship was formed by Walter O. Parmer who grew up in Greenville,” said chairman of the board Pete Hamilton. “He moved to Nashville, Tenn. and made a great deal of money from real estate and horse racing during the 1930s.”

Parmer established his scholarship fund in his will, and the one other requirement was a part of it.

“The hard and fast rule that we have to go by is that the students who receive the scholarship go to Alabama, Auburn and Vanderbilt,” Hamilton said.

It is also required that the students be in the top 25 percent of their class. Students from Butler, Covington, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Lowndes and Wilcox counties are welcome to apply.

Ackerman has also received other scholarships, bringing her total to more than $6,000 a semester. She plans to major in English and minor in linguistics while at Auburn.

“I want to grow as a person in college,” Ackerman said. “I know in college you get out what you put in. I’ve ready to expand my horizons.”

With a family lineage at Auburn, Ackerman says she thinks so, too, can be happy there.

“Mom went to Auburn and I’ve always gone to football games there,” she said. “I visited other schools, but I just didn’t get the feeling that I got when I was at Auburn.”

While out for the summer, Ackerman has chosen to get a jump on her classes by taking history at LBW. Ackerman is the daughter of Jim Ackerman and Dr. Alethea Gammage.