Manning High Senior Receives 2024 SCAC Board of Directors Scholarship
The South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) has named Parah Anderson of Manning High School a recipient of the 2024 Board of Directors Scholarship.
“It’s important to encourage our young people to be well-rounded members of society, and Parah Anderson is exactly that. Her impressive accomplishments, academic and personal, make her more than deserving of this year’s SCAC scholarship,” said Clarendon County Council Chairman Dwight Stewart, who also serves on the SCAC Board. “I wish her well as she continues her academic career and am eager to see what she will achieve in the future.”
Manning High graduating senior Parah Anderson (left) received
the SC Association of Counties Board of Directors Scholarship from Clarendon County
Council Chairman Dwight Stewart (right) at the council's May meeting.
Anderson is the daughter of Sharmane Anderson of Manning and the late Damon Bates of Atlanta. She was voted Student Council class president all four years of her high school career and served as Executive Council Student Advisor this year. She is also involved in extracurricular and service organizations, including Girls Who Code and Google Code Next.
Anderson intends to study computer information systems at the University of South Carolina (USC) in the fall. Her experience setting up computers for county elections and with the USC Summer Seniors program solidified her decision to pursue a future in computer information systems.
Her excellence extends beyond the classroom. Anderson was captain of the junior varsity and varsity girls’ basketball teams at Manning High, co-captain of the varsity golf team at Manning High, and a member of the Beta Club and National Honors Society. She is also a 2023 Heisman High School winner.
Outside of school, Anderson has participated in leadership programs like the American Legion Auxiliary Palmetto Girls State program. She also is a Chick-fil-A team member.
SCAC awarded four $5,000 one-time scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are residents of counties chosen by lot, and Clarendon County was among those selected in the 2024 draw.
In addition to Clarendon County, the 2024 scholarship program was available to students in Kershaw, Laurens and Marion counties. Pickens County students were invited to apply for the SCAC Presidential Scholarship, a $5,000 one-time award in honor of SCAC President and Pickens County Council Vice Chairman Roy Costner III.
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must plan to attend a South Carolina college, university or two-year technical college in the fall.
SCAC’s Scholarship Selection Committee met in the spring to evaluate applicants for the awards. Students who apply must write an essay on their aspirations and educational goals. Recipients are selected based on their essay, grades, school activities and community involvement.