By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO
| THE MORNING CALL |
MAY 29, 2019 | 4:44 PM
Moravian College has created a scholarship program that will award one student each from Lehigh Carbon Community College and Northampton Community College with full rides.
Like he did last year, Matt Eible was planning on working 60 hours a week this summer at two jobs to help pay for college.
Eible, 20, decided to go to Lehigh Carbon Community College for the first two years to save money, and then worked multiple jobs while earning a 4.0 GPA with the intent of transferring to a costlier four-year school. He worked at Cracker Barrel restaurant and at LCCC鈥檚 chemistry lab, and once school let out, picked up hours at Weis grocery store in place of the lab job.
But now a burden has been lifted from Eible鈥檚 shoulder. He was one of two students to receive a Community Scholarship from Moravian College. This is the first year the Bethlehem college is awarding scholarships to both an LCCC and a Northampton Community College student.
The scholarships announced Wednesday will give Eible and Julio Hernandez from NCC full rides to Moravian for two years, minus room and board. Full-time tuition at Moravian is $43,636 per year.
鈥淭his is helping me tremendously,鈥 said Eible, a 2017 Parkland High School graduate who plans to study biochemistry at Moravian.
To be eligible for the scholarship, NCC and LCCC students must earn their associates degree by May 2019, have a strong academic record and demonstrate financial need. Applicants also had to submit a 500-word essay.
Eible, of Breinigsville, wrote about his passion for science and desire to go into the medical field. Hernandez, 20, composed an essay about his little brother, who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, being his inspiration. Hernandez, who graduated from NCC with a 3.9 GPA, plans to be a speech language pathologist for children with disabilities.
Eible and his brother, who graduated this year from Temple University, are the first in their families to receive a four-year degree. Their mother received her associates degree from LCCC and works as a nurse, while their father is employed at Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe-joining systems.
Hernandez, a 2017 graduate of Lehigh Valley Academy Charter School, will be the first in his family to attend college. Like Eible, Hernandez worked two jobs. He works part-time at Old Navy and at a cleaning business where his dad works.
Despite saving as much as possible to transfer to a four-year school, Hernandez, of Bethlehem, still figured he鈥檇 have to take out student loans.
鈥淭his took a lot of stress and anxiety off my shoulders,鈥 Hernandez said. 鈥淚 can just focus on school now.鈥
Moravian offers a similar scholarship to two Bethlehem Area School District students. Since 2016, the college has given one scholarship to a Liberty High student and one to a Freedom High student. Both are four-year scholarships that cover full tuition. Those students have all been first-generation college students.
Bryon Grigsby, Moravian College president, said it鈥檚 important to the Bethlehem school to give back to the community.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make college affordable for students that are struggling to get their college education," he said.
Morning Call reporter Jacqueline Palochko can be reached at 610-820-6613 or at jpalochko@mcall.com.
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Jacqueline Palochko covers education and the Allentown and Bethlehem Area school districts. A Scranton native, Palochko graduated from Ithaca College in 2011 with a degree in journalism. She has previously worked at The (Hanover) Evening Sun, covering breaking news, and The Keene Sentinel in New Hampshire, where she covered city hall.
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