Alfa Awards Scholarship to Incoming Freshman

Alfa Foundation Awards Scholarship to ASU Incoming Freshman 

By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU 

An incoming freshman to Alabama State University is the recipient of an Alfa Foundation scholarship, one of several awarded by the insurance company this week to students attending colleges and universities from across Alabama. 

Anaya Wooden, a Birmingham, Ala., native and a recent graduate of Ramsey High School, is among the recipients who hail from 44 Alabama counties and will attend 23 different academic institutions. Her scholarship funds may be used for such expenses as tuition, fees, books or supplies in the 2023-24 academic year. 

"I am so thankful to the folks from Alfa who awarded me this scholarship that will help me attend my dream school, Alabama State University," Wooden said by phone. "For the last year or so, I have been carefully researching many different colleges and universities to discover which one will best meet the criteria of what I have chosen for my life's career, which is occupational therapy (O.T.). ASU has one of the strongest programs of that kind that I found from the many schools which I researched." 

ALFA'S SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA

For almost 10 years, the Alfa Foundation has selected exemplary students who met the program’s criteria to receive the scholarships, explained Alfa Insurance president, Jimmy Parnell. 

Parnell said the scholarships are awarded based on a student's grade point average, participation in school and community activities, honors, work experience and future goals that will positively impact the community. To qualify, students must be enrolled, or planning to enroll, in a full-time accredited program at a two-year or a four-year college, university or vocational-technical school located in Alabama.

“We are proud to support this outstanding group of students as they further their education within the state of Alabama,” Parnell said. “It’s important to us as an organization to invest in our young people, and we are happy to do so through the Alfa Foundation Scholarship Program.”

EXCITED ABOUT ASU AND AN O.T. CAREER 

Wooden, who graduated from Ramsey with a 3.7 GPA, also has received a full tuition scholarship from Alabama State University, along with a $500 book scholarship stipend. She shared that she has always wanted a career that allowed her to help others, and after "shadowing" an O.T. professional in 2022 and "studying up" on Alabama State University, she feels he has found the career and the University to help her realize her dreams. 

"After reviewing ASU's various O.T. classes, learning from professionals that I spoke to about their opinion about the school and speaking to ASU's Admissions personnel, I knew that ASU was the school for me," Wooden stated. "I am thankful to Alfa and to my parents, Antonio Wooden and Kadi Alston, who have supported and helped me reach the point where I am today. I am also very excited to be attending an HBCU where I may both study and socialize with a majority of like-minded students from within my community, which I feel is important, too." 

News media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104.

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