Two-time Troy University graduate Philip Box and his wife, Paige, have created The Box Family Current Scholarship for Education and Music designed to benefit current and future elementary education and music students.

Philip initially graduated from TROY in 1993 and most recently graduated for a second time in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a minor in criminal justice. Paige, though a supporter of TROY now, graduated from Auburn University.

“Since Paige graduated from Auburn, we like to say that not everybody can go to Troy,” he said. “But she has definitely gotten on board over the years and loves going to everything and being involved.”

The Box’s oldest two children, Brantley and Bryson, also hopped on the TROY bandwagon. Brantley, 22, cheered at TROY during his time on campus and now works full time at Sorrells Funeral Home in Enterprise, Ala., with his father. Bryson, 19, is a current student majoring in elementary education and is a member of Chi Omega Sorority. Their youngest son, Brewer, 14, is their “music guy” and is a member of the symphonic band at his school.

Philip said their oldest two going through the college experience made them realize the hardships students face today, and they wanted to help. Because of the family’s connection to both music and education, the couple geared the scholarship towards students in those degree paths.

“As our kids have been going through the process of preparing for college, we realized just how expensive it is to go now, and we think there ought to be more opportunities for kids, especially in music and education,” he said. “Those are important degree tracks. My wife has been a school teacher for over 20 years, and both my mom and Paige’s mom were teachers, so we feel like those are really important careers and wanted to do what we could to help.

“She loves having all of the TROY student interns in her classroom getting practice hours, so that’s been a good connection, too.”

Scholarship funds are available now for music and elementary education students, and there’s been long-term planning for a Planned Gift to benefit the band and cheerleading programs as well as scholarship money for education, criminal justice and music education students.

Ultimately, the couple said they hope this scholarship will have a domino effect of impact. 

“We hope that a lot of students are able to be benefited by this, but ultimately we hope that they come out of TROY with what it takes to be leaders in those fields,” Philip said. “We’d love to see people that have been recipients of the scholarship end up back in Enterprise or at schools that we love and are connected to in other ways. We’d love to see more people be able to give back one day.”

Philip is the Executive Director of the Alabama Coroners Association and a funeral director at Sorrells Funeral Home. He said it was never a question of where his children would go to school and thanked TROY for having a lasting impact.

“Bryson did not even apply to any other colleges except TROY, and the same will be true with Brewer,” he said. “I loved it here. I built friendships and learned how to study and how to be a leader. It’s our school, so we want to do everything we can to help.”

The requirements for the scholarship are: applicants must have and maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0; must be on the Troy Campus; the scholarship may be merit-based or needs-based; and recipients will be required to write a letter of appreciation to the scholarship donor and will be encouraged to attend the annual Scholarship Donor and Recipient Reception. 

Recipients will be selected by the Troy University Scholarship Committee. Scholarships will be awarded for the academic year beginning in the fall and will be for one year only, though the recipients may reapply every other year. The scholarship will alternate yearly between an elementary education major and a music major.

To apply or view additional scholarship opportunities, visit troy.academicworks.com.