Wellborn senior honored with Rising Star scholarship
WELLBORN — Bentley Bean, a senior at Wellborn High School, has been named one of six recipients of the 2024–2025 Rising Star Scholarship, a $5,000 award sponsored by AmFirst Credit Union and WBRC Fox 6.
The scholarship honors students across central Alabama for their academic excellence, leadership and community service.
'I'm very excited that I was chosen,' Bean said . ' I didn't even think I would get the scholarship out of how many kids were selected for it.'
Bean was selected from a competitive pool of 30 'Rising Star' nominees who were featured throughout the academic year by WBRC. Each honoree was chosen for demonstrating perseverance, passion and a commitment to bettering their communities.
'From that pool, six students were selected to receive the $5,000 Rising Star Scholarship to support their educational journey,' the organizations said in a joint announcement.
The winners were announced during an awards ceremony in Birmingham. Along with Bean, scholarship recipients included Kimora Dejarenette of Sylacauga High School, Carleigh Lipscomb of Gadsden City High School, LeeAnn Satterfield of Southside High School, James Murphy Jr. of Minor High School, and Lana Todd of Holly Pond High School.
'We're incredibly proud to continue our partnership with WBRC to highlight and support the next generation of leaders through the Rising Star program,' said Kevin Morris, president and CEO of AmFirst. 'These students are a powerful reminder of the promise our future holds.'
The scholarship program also included the Bill and Pat Connor Scholarship, named in 2025 to honor the legacy of former AmFirst CEO Bill Connor and his wife, Pat. That award went to Ryan Kozlek of Oak Mountain High School, a dependent of an AmFirst employee.
For Bean, the honor represents years of hard work and a promising start to the next chapter of his academic journey. Each scholarship recipient plans to attend a full-time college or trade school beginning in fall 2025.
Bean said she will attend Jacksonville State University and study physical therapy and sports medicine.
Bean's mom, Dia Webb, who is also the principal at Wellborn High School, said she was amazed because there were over 200 applicants for the scholarship.
'We were just floored when we received the call that she was getting the award,' Webb said. 'As one of the recipients we were kind of speechless and I'm so proud that she did this on her own.'
More information on the Rising Star program and this year's honorees is available at WBRC.com/rising-star.
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