The Edwin L. Hawkins Scholarship Committee awards annual scholarships to outstanding students each year since 2002. The committee was successful in their pursuit of a $10,000 community service grant from Arvest bank. Since that time, your class has given nearly $50,000 in scholarships! Be Proud, Bearcats!
Horace Mann Senior High School
Transitional Class of 1972
The Edwin L. Hawkins
“I Challenge You”
Scholarship Awards Guidelines
The Horace Mann Senior High School Transitional Class of 1972 is proud to present the 15 th
annual Scholarship awards program named in association with the school. The scholarship is
appropriately named in honor of the late Mr. Edwin L. Hawkins, Sr. who was the principal of
Horace Mann Senior High School from 1959 until its closing as a high school in 1971. Mr.
Hawkins was known at the school and around the city for his personable way with students.
He is fondly remembered walking the hallways and breezeways talking, encouraging, and
challenging students to set high goals and expectations for themselves. He would often
remark son, young lady “I challenge you!”
In the fall of 1971, 183 fellow classmates from Horace Mann High School were having
bittersweet feelings about their upcoming senior year. The start of their most important and
anxiously awaited school year was overshadowed by the transitioning of their class at this
milestone in their lives. These 183 souls were now the proud, former students at Horace
Mann High School. It was decided by the Little Rock School District that Horace Mann would
no longer be a community landmark and neighborhood high school. A school that for the first
time in its existence would no longer graduate classes of eager young people anxiously
anticipating meeting the challenges of higher education and life in general. Horace Mann
would no longer be counted as one of Little Rock’s public high schools. Little Rock Central,
Hall High and the newly erected Parkview would become the only high schools in the city at
that time.
The 183 students who dreamed of being the Horace Mann Senior class of 1972 saw their
dream not realized. In order to achieve equal educational opportunities, these students
experienced integration. These former students were somewhat transfixed to the three high
schools in the city, began to be called and to this day still are recognized as the Horace Mann
Transitional Class of 1972. Over 50 years later, Mr. Hawkins’ words live on through this
Scholarship Awards Program. The first scholarships were announced August 31, 2002 at the
30 th reunion celebration of the Horace Mann Transitional Class of 1972, where four
outstanding high school graduates received awards. Our goal for this scholarship program is
to help deserving students pursue their educational dreams and to “Challenge” them to be all
they can be.
Best Regards,
Horace Mann Transitional Class 1972
(You will be asked about this information at the oral interview)
Application Submission Instructions
1. The applicant must be a graduating high school senior of African American descent
enrolled in the Little Rock Public School District or Little Rock eStem Public Charter
High School.
2. The applicant must have a grade point average of 2.75 or above.
3. An official transcript (signed by the registrar of the applicant’s high school) is required
and must be uploaded.
4. The applicant must be accepted to a college, university, or vocational school when the scholarship is awarded. The scholarship will be automatically forfeited if the scholarship recipient does not enter a college,
university, or vocational school. An acceptance letter from the school must be uploaded.
5. All sections of the scholarship application must be completed where indicated online
(including the required signatures) at https://hmtc72.org/i-challenge-you-scholarship-
application/. The scholarship is awarded directly to the recipient.
6. The deadline for the scholarship application is Friday, April 19, 2024. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Please upload a recent photo that is non-returnable. By submitting the photo with
your application you give permission for the photo to be used in HMTC72 promotional
media.
7. Scholarship award finalists will be required to address the Scholarship Review
Committee in an oral interview on Friday, May 3rd or Saturday, May 4th, 2024.
Individual appointments are to be determined.
8. The award presentation is scheduled for Sunday, June 9, 2024. The location is TBA. If
you are chosen to receive the scholarship, you must be present at this event. If you are
unable to attend the scholarship will be forfeited.
9. *The application must be submitted online at https://hmtc72.org/i-challenge-you-
scholarship-application/ . No mailed applications will be accepted this year. All
supporting materials should be submitted online. *
10. Failure to adhere to the above listed rules and regulations will automatically
disqualify an applicant.
Online application instructions include:
1. Go directly to https://hmtc72.org/i-challenge-you-scholarship-application/
and complete the application online.
2. Complete all sections (Personal Data, Achievements and Activities, Horace
Mann Legacy, and Written Communication) of the application where indicated.
3. Upload all required documents where indicated ((transcript, ACT scores,
acceptance letter, and recent Photo).
4. Complete the signature page (answer all questions for you and your
parent/guardian). You and your parent/guardian may sign the document
electronically.
5. If you do not complete the application in one sitting, you may use the “Save
and Resume” button to come back and finish the application before the April
19 th deadline.
6. Select the “Print” button to print a copy of your application submission.
7. Select the “SUBMIT” button to submit your completed application.
If applicant has any questions or concerns, please contact the following person via email
using the subject headline HMTC72 Scholarship:
Name: Dr. Betholyn Gentry _____
Title: Scholarship Committee Chair
Email Address: nfg17@sbcglobal.net
