State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. and the TNStars College Savings 529 Program made the scholarship giveaway available throughout September to all Tennessee residents, age 21 and older, to enter online on behalf of a child age 15 or under. These three winners were randomly chosen October 1 from each of the state’s Grand Divisions:
- Adelyn Lynch, 4, lives with her mom, dad, and little sister in Collierville. She loves reading, puzzles, playing barbies with her sister, and gymnastics. Adelyn attends preschool at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and loves being there with her teachers and friends. The fun art projects they do are her favorite part!
- Kendall Delashmitt, 13, of Hixson, is in the 8th grade. Her career goals are to become a chiropractor and interior designer. She enjoys playing sports, especially soccer and volleyball. She loves Tennessee Vols Football. She also loves her Golden Retriever puppy, Ollie.
- Zac Carter, 10, of Brentwood, is a fifth-grader at Kenrose Elementary School. He is energetic and enjoys playing football, spending time outdoors, listening to music, and loves animals of all kinds. He has interests in being an architect one day when he grows up.
Governor Bill Lee declared September as College Savings Month in Tennessee, stating that national student loan debt has surpassed $1.6 trillion. One way families can help avoid student loan debt is by opening a 529 college savings account. The TNStars College Savings 529 Program was created to encourage Tennessee families to save and invest for the future cost of higher education in a tax-advantaged way. Families can open an account with as little as $25 to start.
Research shows that students with dedicated savings for college are about seven times more likely to attend college than children with no dedicated account. TNStars offers quality investment options at a low cost, so families can save more money for college. Even small, consistent contributions to a 529 account can make a big impact over time.
"I want to congratulate Adelyn, Kendall and Zac, and encourage each of them to use these scholarship funds to pursue their career aspirations,” Treasurer Lillard said. “It's important to start saving early, so that compounding interest works for you rather than against you with student loans, and I hope this scholarsip will help you get started down that path.”
Money invested in a TNStars account grows tax-free when used for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, room and board, books, computers and more.
TNStars is a program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury. To learn more about TNStars or to open an account, visit TNStars.com.