Medallion Scholarship Program
The Medallion Scholarship Program is the ASU Alumni Association’s signature scholarship initiative. The Medallion Scholarship is more than a financial award; it is a comprehensive scholarship program that incorporates components of leadership, scholarship and service.
Medallion Scholars receive four-year, renewable scholarships of $3,000 annually, provided they actively participate in a mentorship program, contribute volunteer hours to the Alumni Association, maintain a satisfactory grade point average, and remain in good standing as an ASU undergraduate.
The Medallion Scholarship is more than a financial award; it is a comprehensive scholarship program that incorporates components of leadership, scholarship and service. A recent example of the service component of the program came when scholarship recipients donated more than 600 volunteer hours by working the concession stands at the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament. Their involvement raised more than $18,000 for Special Olympics of Arizona.
Eligibility is limited to recipients of ASU’s Dean's Scholarship, which is awarded to Arizona high school seniors based on academic performance. Medallion Scholars must demonstrate leadership, community service and extracurricular involvement. Recipients are chosen by the Alumni Association’s Medallion Scholarship Committee.
Reconstituted in 2006, the Medallion Scholarship Program was born out of the Alumni Association’s previous Medallion of Merit Scholarship. The original scholarship program traces its beginnings to the 1960s and provided merit-based financial assistance to thousands of students from across the state. Ninety-one percent of Medallion Scholars have gone on to graduate from the university.
Financial support for the Alumni Association’s signature scholarship comes from individual donations and from a portion of license plate fees paid to the state of Arizona. Vehicle owners with a “Sparky” plate – ASU’s collegiate license plate issued by the state Motor Vehicle Division – pay $25 annually for their plates. The Alumni Association receives $17 to support the Medallion Scholarship Program.
More than 100 students receive the scholarship. During the current academic year, Medallion scholars received $300,000 in financial support and $15,000 in program support.
Medallion Scholars are actively involved in efforts to improve visibility of the scholarship program and the Sparky plate program that funds it. Sparky’s Plate Patrol, inaugurated in 2011, sent teams of Medallion recipients to survey the parking lots closest to Sun Devil Stadium before home football games in order to spread the word about the scholarship and its funding via the Sparky plate program. The squad rewarded attendees with ASU-themed license plates, and encouraged those without such plates to show their support for the university by purchasing the plate.
Apply for the Medallion Scholarship Program
The ASU Alumni Association is accepting applications for the 2012-13 school year, and the application deadline is 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10, 2012. Click here to apply.
If you have questions regarding the scholarship, please contact Dan Turbyfill at dan.turbyfill@asu.edu or (480) 965-4078.
Buy a Sparky Plate
If you live in Arizona, you can support Medallion Scholarship recipients by purchasing an ASU collegiate ("Sparky") plate. It also shows your Sun Devil pride wherever you go!
Learn more about the program.