When a community comes together, the community also benefits.

     Such is the case with Lincoln County’s Mississippi Scholars program.

     On Monday night at Easthaven Baptist Church, the community will again celebrate another successful year of students accepting the challenge of pursuing a more rigorous curriculum during their secondary education years.

     “It’s been another great year,” said Kenny Goza, president of the Lincoln County Mississippi Scholars program. “The students, the parents, everybody’s excited and looking forward to it.”

     During Monday’s program, 148 students will be recognized as Mississippi Scholars. That total, Goza said, represents 37 percent of all graduates from participating schools in Lincoln County.

     Furthermore, some of those students will be rewarded financially, through scholarships to community colleges and four-year institutions in the state, for their hard work and efforts.

     Goza said the amount in scholarship funds awarded would not be revealed until Monday night, but he did say it is similar to totals from recent years. In the last few years, the annual amount awarded has climbed to more than $100,000.

     And since 2006, the first year scholarships were awarded, the local Mississippi Scholars program has given out approximately $500,000 to help students further their educational careers.

     Such fundraising and student participation success has made the Lincoln County program a model for others to emulate around the state and also nationally. Goza and other local Scholars program leaders are regularly asked by the Mississippi Economic Council, which sponsors the program statewide, to share their insights and expertise with school leaders in other communities looking to start or enhance their own programs.

     Goza credited local support from individuals and businesses as a key reason for the Scholars program’s success. There are 31 local sponsors of Mississippi Scholars.

     In addition, there are 130-140 volunteers throughout the year who have a hand in helping Mississippi Scholars. Those include businesspeople and other individuals who go in the classrooms to make presentations to students about the program, those who help with the annual banquet, and those who assist in various other ways during the year.

     Goza said the success of Mississippi Scholars is not result of just a handful of people, but because the community has gotten behind the program and supported it in such a strong fashion.

     “Everybody makes it happen,” he said.