Every student’s story is different, but the financial gap in paying for college is still apparent. In keeping with that theme, the National Advisory Group (NAG) and the Young Executives Organization (YEO) created a scholarship fund for employees and children of NAG member companies. The 2021 NAG Scholarship is named after John MacDougall, who was a dear friend and the founder of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes in New York.
John was a longtime supporter of NAG and, in his personal life, he was also a strong supporter of higher education. To remember John’s legacy in the convenience store industry, I’m proud to offer the John MacDougall/NAG Memorial Scholarship to NAG members.
Every student’s situation is unique, but one thing is all too common: A financial gap often needs to be filled with money-saving efforts or more time at work. The NAG Scholarship Fund will help qualified individuals to offset some of these costs. Among NAG’s core mission is to help to cultivate the convenience store leaders of tomorrow. Staying true to that mission, NAG created the scholarship fund for employees and children of NAG members.
Scholarships provide an opportunity for many people to earn an education. Without assistance from an outside source, many students seeking higher education opportunities may have trouble paying for a degree.Academic performance can suffer greatly when a student is overworked.
Furthermore, roughly two-thirds of all college graduates are saddled with student loans upon leaving school. Due to constantly rising tuition prices, these loans average $30,000. Compared to the debt experienced by students in the early 1990s, this is a 50% increase. In a country where a college degree is beneficial during a job search, scholarships lessen the financial strain on many students.
The Program
The NAG Scholarship Fund is managed by the NAG and YEO boards of directors, CStore Decisions and Scholarship America, and sponsored by the retailer and supplier members of NAG. This program was started in the late 1990s and has distributed more than 120 scholarships totaling more than $140,000 to deserving students. The fund is financed through annual dues collections by NAG members and drives from golf outings and conference sponsorship allocations.
NAG members can download a copy of the scholarship form at NAGconvenience.com.
Eligibility
Applicants who work in the c-store industry must be employees or children of employees who have a minimum of one-year employment with a NAG member company. Applicants must plan to enroll in a full- or part-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school. Applicants who are current students or who have attended school within the past three years must have maintained a minimum 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
The Awards
Due to the generous contributions of NAG’s dues-paying members, we have increased the number of winners to five in recent years and have a healthy scholarship fund to ensure the college-aged children of NAG member companies will receive financial assistance to pursue their goals of becoming the leaders of tomorrow. The program utilizes standard Scholarship America recipient selection procedures, including past academic performance and future potential, leadership and participation in school and community activities, work experience and an outside appraisal.
This year, five awards of $1,000 will be granted. Awards are not renewable, though students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. Applications must be postmarked by May 31, 2021.
I hope you’re able to take advantage of this program by becoming a member of NAG or YEO. For more information on both the scholarship and the association, visit NAGconvenience.com or CStoreDecisions.com.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at (201) 321-5642 or via email at [email protected]. For information about Scholarship America, contact program manager Justice Greene at [email protected] or (507) 931-0787.
