Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College graduate Austin Hanrahan of Gulfport was selected to receive the Bower Foundation Social Work Scholarship, worth $12,500 over five semesters at USM. Hanrahan also received a Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarship and officer’s scholarship worth an additional $14,000.

“Receiving the Bower Scholarship is wonderful and exciting,” he said.  “I plan to get my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, and this will help me make that dream come true. The Phi Theta Kappa scholarships are also important to helping me complete those goals.”

Hanrahan of Gulfport graduated in May. Over the past year, he served as an officer in the Omicron Alpha Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at MGCCC’s Harrison County Campus and was a member of the Honors College.  He also helped with student activities through the Campus Activities Board despite working a full-time job. He has conquered the financial burden of college on his own since he left home when he was 13 years old.

“I had a very difficult home life, and luckily, at that time, my older sister had turned 18 and was moving out,” he said.  “She allowed me to share an apartment with her and her boyfriend, but I had to help pay expenses.  It was a tough decision to make, but it was one I needed to make to get ahead.”

He said he chose social work because a licensed clinical social worker helped him stop his tendency to self-harm. “That was an important step in my life, and the social worker made a big difference in what I was doing and where I was going,” he said.  “I want to help people who are in similar situations, both at home and personally. Without that kind of help, who knows where I would be today?”