NCICU awards UPS scholarship to Lees-McRae freshman Ivanna Knox

Ivanna Knox, a freshman at Lees-McRae College, received a $2,425 UPS Scholarship provided through North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) for the current academic year.

Ivanna, a native of Valdese, NC, is the daughter of Stanley and Scottie Sue Knox. She is majoring in Wildlife Biology and General Biology with a Pre-Health Sciences concentration at Lees-McRae College. Ivanna is a member of the college honors program and engaged in student activities, including the Programming Committee, Red Cross Club and Common Ground. She is also a member of the Rotaract Club.

NCICU is a statewide association for independent colleges and universities that is affiliated with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). At the national level, CIC teams up with the UPS Foundation to distribute funding of the UPS Scholarship. This year, CIC awarded nearly $1.5 million in scholarships from its UPS Educational Endowment Fund to private institutions of higher learning across the nation, including a grant of $87,300 to NCICU. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of the students’ academic achievement and financial need.

“Through this national scholarship program, CIC and UPS are delighted this year to make it possible for 614 talented young men and women to attend the private college or university of their choice,” said Richard Ekman, president of CIC. “By directly assisting students with significant financial need, CIC and UPS are helping a new generation of students achieve their dreams of a college education.”

“UPS is pleased to continue that spirit of giving by partnering with CIC to support thousands of students working to become the leaders of tomorrow by obtaining an education from our nation’s independent colleges,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of the UPS Foundation. “We are proud, too, that the UPS Foundation and UPS employees directed $102 million in philanthropy and in-kind services, including more than 1.8 million hours of volunteer service, to local communities around the world in 2013.”