State Treasurer Kate Marshall and the Board of Trustees of the College Savings Plan of Nevada (Board) today announced that University of Nevada, Las Vegas senior Tara Leigh Myl has been selected as the Southern Nevada recipient of the 2014 Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Scholarship. The announcement was made during a ceremony at UNLV, with Guinn family members, and UNLV President Donald Snyder in attendance.
Myl, a 2010 graduate of Green Valley High School, is majoring in education, with an emphasis on mathematics and science.
In congratulating Myl, Marshall said, "While attending UNLV and working toward her education degree in mathematics and ccience, Tara has worked an average of 20 hours a week on top of her student teaching at Fremont Middle School, with one of her goals being to graduate from college debt free...all while making the Dean's List three consecutive years and being invited to become a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. The word 'determined' comes to mind!"
Steve Guinn said, "The Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Millennium Scholarship continues to be a symbol of the love Kenny had for Nevada and for education. His life was so deeply impacted by education. My dad always wanted to share with Nevada students his enthusiasm for learning and to impart the important role it played in his professional and personal development. I know he would be deeply honored and proud of the achievements of the recipients of this award."
Senate Bill 220 establishing the Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Scholarship Award was unanimously passed by both houses of the 2011 Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval. SB 220, codified in Nevada Revised Statutes 396.940 and 396-945, created a scholarship fund from donations received by the Treasurer's Office after the tragic death in July 2010 of former Governor Kenny C. Guinn.
To date, more than $200,000 has been donated in memory of Gov. Guinn, who originated the concept of the Millennium Scholarship program, which was renamed in his honor by the State Legislature in 2005. NRS was expanded in 2013 to include one recipient from a Southern Nevada institution of higher learning and another from a Northern Nevada school. Each recipient receives up to $4,500 to supplement that student's current GGMS award.
The recipients are chosen by the Board of Trustees of the College Savings Plans of Nevada ("Board") based on the following criteria:
- Must be an eligible Millennium Scholar;
- Must be entering his/her senior or last year of college with 90 or more credits at an eligible institution (UNR, UNLV, Great Basin College, Nevada State College, or Sierra Nevada College);
- Be enrolled in and remain enrolled in a course of study leading to licensure in elementary or secondary education;
- Maintain a college grade point average of not less than 3.5 on a 4.0 grading scale;
- State a commitment to teaching in Nevada upon graduation; and
- Have a commendable record of community service.
Aside from three letters of recommendation, applicants must complete a short essay describing what receiving the Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Scholarship would mean to them personally and how the recipient would use their education degree to benefit the people of Nevada.
For more information, visit on the Gov. Guinn Millennium Scholarship program or the Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Scholarship, visit the Nevada Treasurer's web site or contact the GGMS office.
