MURFREESBORO, Tennessee – January 26, 2021) The Rutherford ATHENA Award Program will award its annual scholarship at the 2021 ATHENA Award luncheon and ceremony on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at Embassy Suites Murfreesboro. The scholarship amount is $3,000.

The Rutherford ATHENA Scholarship is funded by the ATHENA Patrons Society to support and encourage women who want to grow personally and professionally. The ATHENA Scholarship is awarded to a Rutherford County woman who is at least five years out of high school and pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree later in life.

2020 ATHENA Patrons Society Scholarship was awarded to Karla Kirelawich, who is a graphic design major at Middle Tennessee State University, and she has lived in Middle Tennessee for most of the last 20 years.

Kirelawich said she enjoys creative work and is “looking forward to finding a career that allows her to flex her creative abilities while also allowing her to prepare for the future.”

The scholarship recipients, like Kirelawich, exemplify the ATHENA Leadership Model, which identifies eight distinct attributes that reflect women’s contributions to leadership: authentic self, relationships, giving back, collaboration, courageous acts, learning, fierce advocacy, and celebration and joy.

In addition to the annual scholarship, Pinnacle Financial Partners, a perennial sponsor of the Rutherford ATHENA Awards, is offering a one-time $1,500 scholarship for a second deserving applicant. These funds were allocated from last year’s Patron Sponsorship, where unfortunately, the Patrons reception was canceled due to pandemic precautions.

Complete rules and general information about the Rutherford ATHENA scholarship process, including the scholarship application, are posted on the ATHENA website at www.rutherfordcable.org/athena/athena-scholarship.

The scholarship application includes a 300-word essay describing how the applicant has embodied the ATHENA attributes of wisdom, strength and justice in her own endeavors.

Applications and all required supporting documents for the scholarship must be submitted by March 31, 2021.

For more information, please contact the Athena scholarship chair, Margaret Woodis, at margaret.Woodis@trustpointhospital.com.

The Rutherford ATHENA Award Program is presented by founding sponsor RUTHERFORD Cable.