A West Port High School graduate bound for Florida A&M University has been selected as the winner of a $1,200 scholarship.
Maurice Gilbert is one of three Florida graduates to receive a 2018 Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections Joe Oldmixon Scholarship. Submissions were received from high school seniors in all 67 counties.
Gilbert is the first student from Marion County to ever be awarded the scholarship. He will officially receive the honor during a presentation at the Marion County Election Center on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., said Wesley Wilcox, Marion County supervisor of elections.
Gilbert graduated with more than 70 college credits through dual enrollment with the College of Central Florida. He has been accepted as a junior at Florida A&M and plans to double-major in political science and economics, with a minor in public relations. And after graduating from law school, he plans to return to Marion County and pursue a career in the legal field or the political system.
Each year, the FSASE awards three scholarships to qualified students with a major in political science, public administration, business administration, journalism or mass communications. Oldmixon, whose name is attached to the scholarship, was the supervisor of elections for Escambia County for 42 years. He was first elected in 1952 and died in office in 1994.
