Steel recycler Gerdau has awarded Payton Miles, a Maryville Christian School graduate, a $10,000 college scholarship. Payton is one of only 15 students to receive the 2016 Gerdau Scholarship, which is open to the children of employees at the company’s facilities in North America.
Payton is the daughter of Chris and Theresa Miles; her father is an environmental manager at the Knoxville mill.
“The selection panel looks for well-rounded students with a broad scope of achievements,” Gerdau Vice President and General Manager Johnny Miller said. “Payton is an accomplished scholar-athlete with a heart for the community. We are glad to make this investment in her college education and look forward to seeing what she achieves in the future.”
Payton was honored during a celebration at the Knoxville steel mill on June 10, where Miller presented the scholarship award and a tablet/laptop.
Miles plans to study nuclear medicine at South College and then go on to pharmacy school. In high school, she played volleyball and basketball, served on student council, participated as a National Honor Society member, served as a spiritual small group leader and traveled to Guatemala on a school mission trip.
Gerdau Scholarship recipients are awarded a $2,500 annual stipend toward their undergraduate degrees for up to four years and a total of $10,000. Selection is based on standardized test scores, academic performance and contributions to their schools and communities. Candidates are required to submit an essay outlining their personal characteristics, activities, plans and goals.
The Gerdau Scholarship program is designed to promote the company’s commitment to education, one of the its social responsibility program pillars. Gerdau’s other social responsibility pillars include quality of management and community support.
About Gerdau
Gerdau is a leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special steel in the world. It has industrial operations in 13 countries – in the Americas, Europe and Asia – which together represent an installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tons of steel per year. It is the largest recycler in Latin America and around the world it transforms, each year, millions of metric tons of scrap into steel, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development in the regions where it operates. With more than 140,000 shareholders, the Company is listed on the stock exchanges of São Paulo, New York and Madrid.
In 2016, Gerdau won the Knoxville Chamber Impact Award in recognition of its broad community support of its Lonsdale neighbors.