The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program is changing lives of young people throughout Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

The program helps students build their leadership and entrepreneurial skills; instills in them a commitment to community service; and provides hands-on training in career pathways for some of the top in-demand career fields.

If you would like to be a part of this exciting program, The Center is now accepting online applications for the 2019 Rogers Scholars. Students apply when they are a high school sophomore and attend a one-week summer session before the start of their junior year.

“Rogers Scholars brings together some of the best and brightest students throughout the region to develop their skills and seize their full potential as the region’s next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs,” said Lonnie Lawson, President and CEO of The Center for Rural Development. “We cannot wait to see what the new year holds, as we prepare for the 2019 Class of Rogers Scholars.”

To be eligible for Rogers Scholars, you must:

Be a current sophomore at a high school located within The Center’s 45-county primary service area. Southern and Eastern Kentucky counties served by The Center include: Adair, Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Estill, Floyd, Garrard, Green, Harlan, Jackson, Jessamine, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Taylor, Wayne, Whitley and Wolfe.

Have a strong interest in developing skills in leadership, technology, entrepreneurship, and community service.

Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4-point scale).

The 2019 Rogers Scholars program has been scheduled for June 9-14 and July 14-19. The program is provided free of charge to participants and their families and supported solely through donations and special fund-raising events.

To apply for Rogers Scholars, visit www.centeryouthprograms.com. The deadline to submit an online application is 8 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2019.

After completing the Rogers Scholars program, graduates have access to exclusive college scholarship opportunities valued at more than $8 million from 18 universities throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and one university in Tennessee.

U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) started the program in 1998 with the mission that “No young person should have to leave home to find his or her future.” Since then, 1,247 high school students have graduated from Rogers Scholars.

For more information or questions about the online application process, call Allison Cross at (606) 677-6000 or email across@centertech.com.