Education Can Change the World for Christ
Since 1982 over 2000 college-bound students from Pickens and Dawson counties have counted on Big Canoe Chapel for monetary support. Any Pickens or Dawson home schooled or accredited high school graduate may apply. Learn more here.
Big Canoe Chapel Invests in Country’s Youth
What can a Big Canoe Chapel scholarship mean to a graduating high school senior? Ask Jennifer Mullinax, MD. Dr. Mullinax grew up in Jasper where she attended Pickens County public schools from grades K-12. Her Big Canoe Chapel scholarship helped launch her to the University of Georgia, then on to the Medical College of Georgia. She then spent three years of pediatric residency at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, and another three years of subspeciality training in pediatric hematology/oncology in New Orleans. She is now a general pediatrician at Charles Henderson Child Health Center in Troy, Alabama. To this day she says, “I am so grateful for the Big Canoe Scholarship in helping me get a start on fulfilling my dreams of going to college and becoming a doctor.”
Dr. Mullinax is not alone. Tucker Green, a 2016 scholarship recipient from Pickens High School, graduated from the University of Georgia and credits the support of the community and the scholarship for his commitment to public service. He was elected to the Pickens County Board of Education while in college and currently serves as board chair. He says “It is a blessing to me to try and give back. Now I get to play a role in the lives of young people as they prepare for their future. It is surreal for me to watch as students benefit similarly to me with honors such as the Big Canoe Scholarship.”
Since 1982, over 2,800 Pickens and Dawson County graduating seniors have been awarded Big Canoe Chapel scholarships totaling over $2.8 million. Recipients have chosen schools from Harvard to Georgia Tech, UGA to John Hopkins and hundreds of others, large and small.
Included in the general grants are awards from The Joe Dodd Memorial Scholarship, established in 2018, and awarded to students who plan to pursue sports at the college level.
The Sally Shannon Memorial Scholarship, established in 2020 by her brother, is awarded to two well-rounded students who display a high degree of proficiency in math and who plan to focus on math or a math related field.
The iPhone/iPad scholarship was established in 2016 and awarded to Dawson and Pickens County seniors who are planning to major in some field of computer science.
Dr. Mullinax has one other reminder she wants passed along to the students. “Follow the Lord with all your heart.” And, to that, Big Canoe Chapel says, “Amen.”
