Contributed

Marien Furr, a North Stanly High School graduate enrolled in the cosmetology program at Stanly Community College, has received a $500 scholarship from Great Clips, Inc.

The annual Great Clip Scholarship Program, given in memory of Alice Madden Barton, offers financial assistance or cosmetology tools totaling more than $100,000 annually.

Local Great Clips salon owners who evaluate and select winners will determine award values based on the number of applicants, available funds and other factors.

“On behalf of Stanly Community College and the Cosmetology Division, we want to thank Great Clips for their scholarship gift and support for our students,” Tammi McIlwaine, associate vice president, school of transfer and business at SCC, said. “We are inspired by the generosity that Great Clips provides to so many deserving students, and especially thankful for their help to SCC students.”

Carla Ochier, senior general manager, Great Clips, travelled from Lexington to the Albemarle campus to present the scholarship check and flowers to Furr.

“Great Clips is pleased to offer Marien a scholarship to help support her studies at Stanly Community College,” she said. “We wish her all the best along her journey and for a successful and fulfilling career in the exciting field of cosmetology.”

Furr was concurrently enrolled in high school courses while attending cosmetology classes at SCC through the State’s Career and College Promise (CCP) program.

CCP allows high school junior and senior students, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, to take tuition-free college courses. The goal is to better prepare students for entering college or a career at a lower cost.

Stanly Community College’s cosmetology curriculum is designed to provide competency-based knowledge, scientific/artistic principles and hands-on fundamentals associated with the cosmetology industry.

The curriculum provides a simulated salon environment that enables students to develop manipulative skills.