The 6 p.m. Monday program is in the Sparkman Auditorium at the Mississippi Ag and Forestry Museum. Pre-registration is encouraged and parents and students may sign up by going to www.esfweb.com or by calling (601) 321-5533.

Topics that will be discussed include the college admissions process, scholarships and financial aid, essay writing, interviewing skills and campus life.

Fortunately for Martinez, an outstanding student in Van Buren public schools, he — along with five of his seven other siblings — was accepted by the University of Michigan, where there were scholarships awaiting migrant students.

Martinez, who is now a lawyer in Kalamazoo, doubts that those scholarships would be available to him today, in the wake of Michigan voters 2006 ban on affirmative action in college admissions, public hiring and contracting.

The event was attended by the Crown Prince’s Court president Shaikh Khalifa bin Daij Al Khalifa, CPISP officials and students.

Mr Henzel congratulated the 2008 scholarship recipients, who include six students planning to study in the US and four in the UK.

Shaikh Khalifa thanked the US Embassy for its continued co-operation with the CPISP and praised Bahrain’s solid cultural and educational ties with the US.

This year’s US-bound scholarship recipients include Rawan Mohmmed Maki, who will be studying Economics at Yale University; Sarah Ameen who will be studying Economics at the University of Pennsylvania; and Fatema Sulaiman Al Hashemi, Ali Saeed Shehab, Fatima Saeed Al Gharbi, and Mohammed Ghazi Selais, who will all be pursuing high school post-graduate diplomas at various prep schools in the US, before applying to university.

Meanwhile, recipients who will be attending universities and boarding schools in the UK include Mohsen Ehab Ameeri, Abdulla Saleh Abdulaal, Aysha Ali Al Khaja and Mahmood Mohamed Abdul Salam.

“I’ve always had a genuine interest in Korean culture and society and everything else that encompasses Korea… beyond the popular music and the TV dramas,” said Nurfauzanna light-heartedly when asked why she chose Korea for her Masters.

Having been to Korea once before, Nurfauzanna has no qualms about her three-year endeavour, where she will spend the first year learning the Korean language.

“I already have a few Korean friends and their culture is no different than ours,” she said with confidence.

“The only difference I can see is that it will be a foreign country with a foreign language.

“One of the biggest challenges for me would be learning the language,” she later added.

Nurfauzanna binti Abu Bakar recently completed her undergraduate studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam in BA History with a minor in Public Policy and Administration.

The first recipient of the full-ride scholarship in Brunei, the 25-year-old UBD graduate will be joining other scholarship students from Poland, Mexico and Senegal, among others.

When asked how he felt a day before boarding the plane this week, Hunt did admit to some trepidation.

“Butterflies,” was his one-word response.

But, while it took him six months to officially sign the offer he received in February, he’s definitely looking forward to the opportunity.

“They’ve got the best volleyball division in the States, and really good coaching,” he said of the main drawing points. “And, yea, it’s Hawaii.”

A graduate of Donald A. Wilson Secondary School, where he helped lead the team to a LOSSA title in his final year, Hunt played club volleyball with the Durham Attack before leaving to play with a top-notch coach in Toronto the past couple of years.

It was with the Toronto team, which played at tournaments in Chicago and at Penn State last year, that he was noticed by Hawaii’s associate coach Tino Reyes.

“It was a sick team,” he said of the calibre of his Toronto club. “We came third in Canada. We lost one match in Canada all year. It was the semifinals, which sucks, but still (it was a great year).”

Hunt, a left side power hitter, will study general arts the first year as he tries to determine a career path.

He does know, however, that he wants to take volleyball as far as possible and perhaps even play the sport professionally one day.

“The league that I play in, a lot of the players do play pro when they’re done, so hopefully I’ll be able to that,” he said of his goals. “And hopefully the Olympics someday, when Canada makes it.”

By definition, non-traditional students are those who are at least 25 years of age when beginning college.

Harper has further designated the scholarship as one which will support students who are the first in their immediate family to attend college.

揘on-traditional aged college students are typically those who entered the workforce directly after high school and who have, for a variety of reasons, decided to pursue a college degree a little later in life,?says Harper. 揟aking this into consideration, standardized test scores will not be used since the likely applicants might not have taken the ACT or SAT.?/FONT>The recipient of the Harper MTC Scholarship must be at least 25 years of age, the first person in his or her immediate family to attend college, and be registered to attend Marion Technical College. Recipients of the scholarship will be evaluated based on prior academic achievement such as his or her class ranking, grade point average, and the relative difficulty of his or her courses in both high school and any other higher education. Financial need will be considered, as will the applicant抯 commitment to his or her community and citizenship.

M&I Bank is accepting applications from student-athletes for scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,500. M&I Bank will award a $500 scholarship to one high school senior each week for 10 weeks.

On Dec. 12, the bank will announce an additional grand-prize scholarship, valued at $5,000, awarded to one of the 10 finalists.

“There are high school students all around the Valley who work diligently in academics, athletics and their communities,” said Carey Allen, vice president and regional marketing manager for M&I Bank. “With rising costs of college tuition, M&I Bank is proud to honor 10 of these students every year with financial awards.”

M&I Bank will evaluate applications throughout the 10-week period to determine a scholarship winner each week. The final deadline for submitting applications is Oct. 25. Application packets, which include six short-answer questions, are available at all M&I Bank branches in metropolitan Phoenix and the Prescott area (visit www.micorp.com for a list of branches) or online at www.azfamily.com/skylights. Students are encouraged to submit their applications early.

Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation from a teacher, coach and/or academic adviser; a statement from a coach or athletic director confirming participation in a sport, and a certified copy of official academic transcripts from the previous two school years.

Any Arizona high school senior can apply. Applicants must have a grade-point average of at least a 3.25 on a 4.0 scale, and must participate in at least one season of a particular sport, at any level. All school-sponsored sports are eligible, and applicants do not have to have plans to participate in post-high-school sports to qualify.

Applicants are required to be 18 or younger and a legal Arizona resident. The scholarship must help fund post-secondary education, which can include a college, university or vocational school. For more information, call Carey Allen at 480-558-6383.

And it’s a kick, several of them in fact, that will once again be used as qualifiers to enable select senior students at Mooresville Senior High to cash in on what Morse has to offer.

Again during the course of the fast-approaching varsity high school football season, Morse will be conducting qualifying kicks to hand-selected candidates for a shot at taking aim and connecting on a field goal try during a regular break in all home games for the MHS Blue Devils.

Those participants in the J.J. Morse Kicks for Kids Scholarship program will be in the running for the season’s grand prize that will be awarded to one of the booters.

This marks the third year of the program, and a number of students at Mooresville has already made the most of what they received.

“We’ve already had several scholarship winners,” boasted J.J. Morse, who lends his name to the event. “This is just one way that I can give back to the community. It’s been a real success in the past, and we look forward to great participation by the students this year, too.”

Morse will be conducting kicks during each of the Devils’ home games, the first of which is being played Friday. Applications for potential kickers remain available in the schools’ guidance counselor office.

If all goes according to plan, Morse will have several candidates to be involved in the kicks taking place in between the third and fourth quarters of every home game all season. All making good on the kicks that will be held from various distances will then be eligible for the grand kick-off that will be held during the final regular season home game.

The one making good on the kick that final night will be rewarded with the $1,000 J.J. Morse Kick for Kids Scholarship check.

Students meeting the application requirements will be selected and notified prior to every home game. They will be asked to gather near midfield during the third period for the qualifying kicks that will be held in between the final two periods of the game. In the past years, the kicks have taken place at the goal nearest the fieldhouse end of the stadium.

All of those making good on their kicks will then be pooled for the final session of the season. One selection from that field will then be chosen to take the scholarship boot. If successful, the entry will receive the $1,000 boost to be used to help with continuing educational expenses.

Only seniors at Mooresville High can qualify, and they don’t have to be participants in sports programs to fill out an application.

“We want as many students in the senior population to take part,” stressed Morse. “The more we have to fill out applications, the better. I wish I could reward them all. This is just a way that I can give something back.”

First kickers for the initial qualifying kicks are being determined and will be notified in order for them to be in attendance at the first home game Friday night.

A four-year scholarship in the amount of $1,500 per year will be awarded to a student entering a college or university.

Additionally, the Rotary Club of Slidell offers a two-year scholarship in the amount of $500 per year for a student entering a vocational-technical or junior college system.

Fitzgerald already knew that Saban has never had a starter or specialist who was non-scholarship, making it probably just a matter of time until the numbers worked out and the 85-man limit had vacancies. Consequently, with a couple of players leaving the Crimson Tide during fall practice, he along with junior kicker Leigh Tiffin and junior safety Tyrone King Jr. officially no longer had walk-on status.

“I love it,” Fitzgerald said with a smile, but admitted his parents were even more pleased. “I was happy for them.”

Now there’s just the football, an area where Fitzgerald hopes to take another important step as well in 2008.

“Punting-wise, I worked on my technique, shortened my strides up and punting through the ball,” Fitzgerald said about his offseason. “I’ve been hitting it pretty solid.

“My first two years I was overstriding a lot, trying to overpower the ball. But I learned that it was form and my leg will take care of the power. So I shortened my strides up.”

Players and coaches say they see a difference in Fitzgerald (and Tiffin) this fall, but in some ways that was to be expected. The past two seasons, he’s been Alabama’s punter in all 26 games.

Specifically, the Tide’s team goals are a minimum of 42 yards per punt, and a net of 38 yards. He averaged 38.7 yards on 64 punts last season (after 38.2 as a freshman).

The team average of 38.1 ranked last in the SEC, but with the top-notch coverage units yielding just 2.1 yards per return, the net average of 33.5 ranked eighth.

Fitzgerald had 20 punts downed inside the opponents’ 20, along with eight touchbacks, and a career-long 58-yard punt at Vanderbilt. For his career, he’s had 12 punts of 50 yards or more.

“I want to be consistent through the whole year,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t want any ups and downs — keep going up with every game.”

One of the ways he’s hoping to do that is occasionally kicking soccer balls during practice. Although it looks a little unusual, there is a reason.

“It’s a lighter ball, so it helps you get up and through it more,” he said. “For me personally, I would kick the ball and my leg would come straight back down. I hit this and my leg goes up and keeps going up, so I get more hang time and a solid hit.”

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald will again be Tiffin’s holder, while many of the other special-teams jobs have yet to be finalized. That’s in part due to competition and the collection of new players who are proving to be too good to leave on the bench, like true freshman Chris Jordan, a running back already turned linebacker.

“We’re kind of in a situation, without naming names, where in the next days we’re probably going to determine eight to 10 freshmen who have an opportunity, first of all play some position, be in some role, be some sort of backup or starter on our team,” Saban said earlier this week. “Once that’s determined, and there’s still competition at some of those positions, then we determine, ‘Hey if these guys are backup players then we’re probably going to go ahead and play them on special teams,’

“With this team, we’re going to have to make that determination as if we’re cutting our team (like an NFL squad), we’re going to keep these guys and we’re going to play them this year then let’s go ahead and play them. I don’t feel like we have enough depth on our team, if we play these guys they might make some mistakes early but in the long run I think it will make us a better team.”

Traditionally, fullbacks, linebackers, safeties and tight ends fill up a numbers of spots on return units. It’s also where someone can work his way on to the field, like former walk-on Rashad Johnson, now an All-SEC safety.

“The offseason was the best (yet) for me personally, and the team,” Fitzgerald said.

It’s already paying off.

Tide-bits

Senior center Antoine Caldwell was named to the Rimington Trophy fall watch list Friday. There are 43 players on the list, compiled by the Rimington Trophy committee, including 2007 winner Jonathan Luigs of Arkansas. The award for best center has never had a repeat winner.

Sophomore Brian Motley was at a new spot during the brief time period reporters were allowed to watch Friday’s practice, left guard, with junior Evan Cardwell at center on the second unit.

Sophomore wide receiver Darius Hanks appeared to be wearing a No. 6 jersey during Friday’s practice. No. 6 for Clemson is Jacoby Ford, and the Tide also had players wearing Aaron Kelly’s No. 80. Considering the Tigers like to use three-receiver sets, Alabama coaches may have given the scout team a little extra help.

As expected, sophomore linebacker Charlie Higgenbotham (groin) was in black, signaling no contact, but did run during individual drills.

Although redshirt freshman wide receiver Brandon Gibson will likely not be near the top of the depth chart, which will be released Monday, Saban indicated that he was one of the team’s top performers in the offseason conditioning program. “If he keeps working like he has, I’d like to think he’ll make a contribution at some time during the season,” the coach said Thursday.

Today’s practice, which is closed to the public, has been moved to 2:30 p.m. The team will have Sunday off.