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South gradudate receives Georgia-Pacific scholarship
Brent Roden
Brent Roden - photo by Photo submitted

ATLANTA -- Brent Roden, a recent graduate of South Effingham High School, has been selected as a recipient of a Georgia-Pacific Foundation Employees’ Children Scholarship.

Roden is the son of Randal Roden, who works at Georgia-Pacific’s Atlanta headquarters. At SEHS, Brent dual enrolled at Georgia Southern University for two years, was a member of the National Honor Society, earned the Georgia Scholar Endorsement, lettered in track. He also worked as a YMCA swim instructor, lifeguard, and swim team coach. This fall, he will attend Auburn University with plans to study Mechanical Engineering, where he was awarded the Charter four-year scholarship.

Georgia-Pacific awards 50 scholarships each year to the children of employees across the country. The scholarship awards $2,000 per year for up to four years of full-time college undergraduate study or until baccalaureate degree requirements are completed, whichever occurs first, for a total maximum award of up to $8,000.

“The COVID-19 shutdown has cost these young people a huge part of their educational experience,” said Curley M. Dossman, Jr., president of the Georgia-Pacific Foundation. “It is vital that we continue to support their academic success and remind them that their futures remain bright.”

Since the scholarship program began in 1988, Georgia-Pacific has awarded nearly 1,600 scholarships totaling nearly $13 million. The program is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and is open to children of all active, full-time, U.S.-based employees of Georgia-Pacific. About 300 applications were received this year.

Education is a cornerstone of Georgia-Pacific’s community investment. Across the country, the company supports a wide array of public school and community based educational programs. Investment support includes programs that boost literacy, promote STEM and STEAM interest and train educators to take their skills to the next level of teaching and learning.

About Georgia-Pacific

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals.  Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Sparkle®, Mardi Gras® and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest recyclers of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 180 facilities and employs more than 30,000 people directly and creates approximately 89,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com.