BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — A local business man is helping West Virginia’s students afford a college education.
“I actually have 40 stores, so it’s about six (scholarships) per store that will result in a $2,500 scholarship to pay for their tuition and books at a college,” Ebert said.
The only requirement, Ebert said, is working 15 hours at a McDonald’s location.
“If someone is looking for a summer job and is interested in a scholarship, they would be eligible for the $2,500 scholarship,” he said. “It’s an annual scholarship, so it totals out to $10,000 over four years.”
The scholarships, which are part of the National Archway Program, have been a success in West Virginia.
“It’s worked out well. The last two years, we’ve given out about $250,000 in scholarships, but this year we’re really trying to reach out and trying to get more kids in to earn this,” Ebert said.
In fact, he was recognized during McDonald’s national shareholders meeting in 2016 as one of the leaders in the program.
In addition to the scholarships, Ebert also teaches a math ACT prep class to help students improve their scores and receive the Promise Scholarship.
“To get the Promise Scholarship, you have to have at least a 20 in every category and math is the hardest,” he said. “We don’t want anyone to get stuck on 17, 18, or 19, so our goal is to help them in the math to get the Promise Scholarship.”
With the Promise Scholarship, which is $4,750/year, and the $2,500/year scholarship from McDonald’s, students can account for a large chunk of their tuition fees without loans and other financial help.
“Our goal is just to try to help with education as much as we can,” Ebert said. “On average, we improve their score about three points. We teach that six times a year before the ACTs.”
The three-hour class is typically offered in many different parts of central West Virginia.
“I’ve taught it in Bridgeport, I taught it up in Fairmont and around the central part of the state,” Ebert said. “We have different classes for different classes at different venues. Typically we have kids from maybe 8 or 10 different high schools. A lot of kids from Morgantown will come down to Bridgeport as well for the class.”
After several years of doing the prep classes, Ebert said he’s seen many success stories.
“There’s a girl named Emily King down in Philippi that couldn’t get a certain score to get into a medical program down at Marshall,” he said. “She came to my house a couple of times, she came to the class, and we helped her get into that. It makes you feel very good to help someone.”
As a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, followed by entrepreneurial classes at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ebert understands the importance of higher education.
“Every statistic shows that your future earnings are so much better if you have a college degree,” he said. “That’s what we’re pushing. We want people to reach their potential, and that’s just a great way to do it through those two avenues.”
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