Florida Tech Names First Farmer Scholar
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology has named the first recipient of the Farmer Scholars Program, Andrew Hernandez. A senior at Jesuit High
School in Tampa, Fla., Hernandez will graduate this May.
A member of the National Honor Society, Hernandez has received a variety of awards and honors, including the Presbyterian College Award for Academic
Excellence and the National Hispanic Merit Scholarship. He is a To Shin Do black belt, varsity football player and member of the Rho Kappa History Honors
Society, Spanish Honors Society and the astronomy club.
Hernandez will enter Florida Tech this fall majoring in chemical engineering.
“We all have those moments when we happen to be in the right place at the right time and everything just happens to fall in our favor. My selection was one
of those moments. The Farmer Scholarship comes as a blessing and I could not be more excited to attend Florida Tech this coming fall,” said Hernandez.
The program provides a full four-year scholarship to be awarded annually to a Florida resident and high school graduate. Included in the scholarship are
all tuition and university fees, a room in Harris Village’s Farmer Hall and the regular university meal plan.
Each subsequent fall semester, another incoming student will be selected until, by the fourth year, four students will be enrolled at Florida Tech as
Farmer scholars.
Additionally, if funds are available and the Farmer Scholar elects to participate, recipients will be given a stipend between their junior and senior year
for enrichment through Florida Tech’s summer study abroad program at Oxford University.
Phillip W. Farmer, retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris Corp., donated $1.5 million to establish this endowed scholarship.
“Highly accomplished students such as Andrew and those who follow him as Farmer Scholars will enrich our student body and add luster to our university.
They may have the will but not the means to attend here were it not for Mr. Farmer’s generous endowment,” said Florida Tech President Anthony J. Catanese.
