Columbia State Community College establishes two new nursing scholarships

Columbia State Community College has recently established two new scholarships via the Columbia State Community College Foundation, both of which will benefit nursing students as they work through their education. One, the Slaughter-King Family Scholarship, is for nursing students or education students from Maury County, and the other, the S.L. and Mittie Parsley Scholarship, will benefit nursing students from Maury County or from Williamson County.

According to an article on Columbia State Community College’s website, the Slaughter-King Family Scholarship was established by a family with three generations of students having attended the college. Bethany Lay, who serves as the college’s vice president for advancement and as the executive director of the Columbia State Foundation, was quoted as saying of the family, “I enjoyed learning from Mattie about her life's journey and how Columbia State was involved. The college and foundation are appreciative of her desire to encourage students to push through even when life is challenging. The scholarship will be helpful to Maury County students in nursing or education programs of study.”

Mattie Slaughter-King was a non-traditional student with two children when she first began her college education at Columbia State Community College. She was an education student and received financial help from scholarships in order to pay for college. Following her time at Columbia State Community College, Mattie transferred to Belmont University to finish her education degree. Both of her sons started their education at Columbia State Community College, as well. Mattie’s niece also graduated from Columbia State.

In another article on Columbia State Community College’s website, Lay said of the S.L. and Mittie Parsley Scholarship, "The Foundation and Columbia State appreciate the Parsley family honoring their parents in such a way that also helps nursing students achieve their goals.”

S.L. and Mittie were both born in Maury County and later moved to Williamson County, hence the family’s desire to offer a scholarship for nursing students hailing from these two counties. S.L. Parsley was the founder of the Barclay Furniture Manufacturing Company and Mittie Parsley was an artist and homemaker. The couple was married for 72 years. The Parsleys’ family wanted to establish the scholarship to honor the couple’s memory.

The S.L. and Mittie Parsley Scholarship will be available for applications beginning with the Fall 2025 semester.

For more information about Columbia State Community College, visit the school’s website.