A round of golf next week can help put a young person through college next year.

The ERDC Alumni Association will host its third annual four-person golf scramble on Thursday, March 20, at Clear Creek Golf Course in Bovina. The event is a fundraiser for the group’s scholarship program.

The tournament will begin at 1 p.m. on March 20, with lunch provided by the Mulberry Bistro at noon. The cost is $320 per four-person team, or $80 per player. Sponsorships are also available for $500 or $1,000, and donations to the scholarship program are always welcome.

Entry forms are available at the Clear Creek clubhouse, or by contacting tournament director Ernie Smith at 601-218-6206 or ern.r.smith@gmail.com

Smith said the ERDC Alumni Association will award between six and 10 scholarships worth $1,000 each. The exact number is based on the proceeds from the tournament.

The scholarships are open to any high school senior in Warren County, as well as any relative of a current or former ERDC employee.

“It’s pretty much any student that has a tie to ERDC in Vicksburg,” Smith said.

While ERDC is known as a hub of advanced engineering, Smith said the scholarships are not limited to students interested in pursuing those types of degrees.

“We focus on STEM, but we realize that at ERDC there’s welders ­— if somebody wants to go to a vo-tech, that’s applicable — there’s business majors and lawyers. A couple of years ago there was somebody going to Ole Miss who wanted to study law,” Smith said. “We’ve had psychology and forestry people. At ERDC, there’s a lot of professions that work there like librarians. That’s kind of high tech now.”

Scholarship application forms are available through each high school’s guidance office, or by contacting Smith. The deadline to apply is April 10.

Students who apply must also submit a short essay and a letter of recommendation; and have a minimum ACT score of 20 and a GPA of 3.0.

ERDC Alumni 2025 Scholarship Package