MSU Foundation announces new scholarship opportunity for students funded by Senora May and Tyler Childers
The Morehead State University Foundation announces the establishment of the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Scholarship. This scholarship is made possible through a partnership with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the generosity of musician couple Senora May and Tyler Childers.
May, a native of Estill County, is a singer-songwriter. She is married to Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tyler Childers. Childers is a native of Lawrence County. The couple established the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund in 2020 to bring awareness and financial support for philanthropic efforts in the Appalachian Region. The fund supports ongoing efforts in education, civil rights and addiction recovery. The couple will donate 100% of the net profits from Childers’ “Long Violent History” album to support the purposes of this relief fund.
As part of the couple’s effort to support education, the Hickman Holler Appalachian College Fund will support scholarships for students at several universities in the region including Morehead State University.
“We are thrilled to be selected as a University supported by this scholarship. Students from the MSU service region will greatly benefit from this generosity,” said Jim Shaw, CEO of the MSU Foundation. “It is inspiring to see this successful couple give back to the Appalachian region they call home.”
The Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Scholarship will benefit students who are incoming freshman with a cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students from MSU’s traditional service region in Eastern Kentucky will receive priority. Students from the tri-state area who live in bordering counties of Ohio and West Virginia may also be considered. Preference will be given to African American students and students with financial need from these communities. The scholarship is renewable as long as the student meets required eligibility.
“Senora and Tyler have made a powerful statement about their belief in the power of education by establishing this scholarship at Morehead State University, selected for their commitment to serving students from Appalachia," said Amy Fair, vice president of donor services for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. “Morehead joins three other schools with similar goals of supporting the Appalachia Region—Berea College, Ohio University and West Virginia University—that are benefitting from Senora and Tyler’s Hickman Holler Appalachian College Fund and their generous investment in aspiring college students.”
Students interested in applying to this scholarship, along with other privately funded scholarships managed by the MSU Foundation, should visit the online scholarship application at moreheadstate.awardspring.com.
Those interested in contributing to Hickman Holler scholarship at the MSU Foundation may do so at alumni.moreheadstate.edu/hickmanholler. For more information on this Morehead State scholarship, or to establish your own, contact MSU’s Office of Alumni Relations and Development at 606-783-2033, email giving@moreheadstate.edu or visit alumni.moreheadstate.edu.
To learn more about the Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund endeavor created by May and Childers, visit www.hickmanhollerappalachianrelieffund.org.
