Alex Robertson Named 2014 Farmer Scholarship Recipient

Merritt Island Resident Plans to Study Meteorology at Florida Tech

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology has named Alex Robertson the 2014 recipient of its most prestigious scholarship, the Farmer Scholarship.

Robertson, an Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School graduate planning to study meteorology, received a full, four-year scholarship under the Phillip W. Farmer Scholars Program that covers all tuition and university fees, a room in Harris Village’s Farmer Hall and the regular university meal plan.

And as the Farmer Scholar, Robertson will be given a stipend between his junior and senior years for enrichment through Florida Tech’s summer study abroad program at Oxford University.

The Farmer Scholars Program each year selects a Florida resident and high school graduate who is among the top 5 percent of his or her class and demonstrates exceptional academic achievement and outstanding personal character. That certainly describes Robertson.

Ending his high school career with an unweighted grade point average of 4.0 — tied for first in his class — at one of the most academically rigorous schools on the Space Coast, Robertson is a 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program finalist and AP Scholar with Honor. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and the Edgewood Academic Team. Outside of school, he worked as a media specialist and art and environment ministry volunteer at Divine Mercy Catholic Church on Merritt Island and a student volunteer for the Edgewood Athletic Program.

Robertson is a certified East Central Florida Skywarn Weather Spotter with the National Weather Service, and he is eager and excited to further his learning in that area at Florida Tech.

“I’ve always known of FIT’s reputation as a world-class research center and learning institution, particularly for my targeted major of meteorology. That reputation was confirmed during my junior year when I participated in career-shadowing activities at the Morrell Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,” he said. “I was impressed to find that some of the top professionals employed there had undergraduate and graduate degrees from FIT, demonstrating FIT’s success in preparing its students for real-world, high-tech employment. FIT has been number one on my college wish list ever since.”

Robertson will not be the first Panther in his household, however. His father, Douglas, earned a master’s in space systems from Florida Tech in 1992 and now works as a propulsion project engineer with NASA.

The Farmer Scholars program began in 2009, when Phillip W. Farmer, retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris Corp., donated $1.5 million to establish this endowed scholarship.

“Mr. Farmer’s generosity, coupled with our university’s outstanding faculty and programs, are together helping prepare Florida Tech’s best and brightest students for a successful future,” said FIT President and CEO Anthony J. Catanese.

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