The University of Memphis announced they will not charge tuition to spouses or children of fallen soldiers on Memorial Day.
Starting this fall, the university will become the only university in the U.S. to offer this scholarship in tandem with the Folds of Honor organization.
University of Memphis ensuring no tuition for relatives of fallen veterans https://t.co/wUUT9I5QfW pic.twitter.com/ek2BfN1yZA
— FOX13 Memphis (@FOX13Memphis) May 29, 2018
The national Folds of Honor scholarship is an annual $5,000 grant given to undergraduate students younger than 24 if they have a parent that was severely injured or killed while on active duty. Spouses are also eligible for the scholarships.
Alyssa Hill, a 2018 graduate from the University of Memphis, whose father died while serving overseas, said to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “For other people going forward, I think it will be a huge help and a huge relief. It will try to take some of that burden off and try to pay back some of that sacrifice.”
That scholarship will now cover the price of tuition at the University of Memphis.
According to Fox 13, the program still has to finalize some details. The Folds of Honor scholarship will only be eligible for in-state students, and there could end up being a cap put on the number of students who are granted it.
Senior Vice President Ben Leslie said that the Folds of Honor organization had been looking for a university to pilot their tuition-priced scholarship program and the University of Memphis was selected.
There were five students enrolled at the university with this specific scholarship and 173 students at 30 higher level institutions across the state of Memphis.