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-Press Release, Oxford Preparatory School

Alexis Simmons, a senior at Oxford Preparatory School, has been awarded the Barker-Ferguson Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship provides full-tuition, room and board.

Alexis Simmons, a senior at Oxford Preparatory School, has been awarded the Barker-Ferguson Endowed Scholarship and has also been named a Nursing Scholar at Barton College. The scholarship provides full-tuition, room and board. (Photo courtesy OPS)

Alexis has also been named a Nursing Scholar at Barton. Alexis is the daughter of Steve and Lisa Simmons of Henderson, NC. During her time at Oxford Prep, Alexis has earned a number of academic distinctions including being named marshal, earning membership in Beta Club and a Director’s List recipient every semester.

Alexis not only excels in academics, she is also a talented dancer and thespian, having performed in numerous roles with the Henderson Rec Players.

The Barker-Ferguson Endowed Scholarship was established through a gift by Eddie and Debra Ferguson in honor of her father, William L. Barker, and in memory of her mother, Birdie Parham Barker, and of his parents Jack E. and Dorothy Hunt Ferguson. One full scholarship is renewable as long as the recipient maintains a 3.25 cumulative grade point average.

The Barker-Ferguson Endowed Scholarship is awarded to a resident of Granville or Vance counties, North Carolina, who attends high school in those counties. Nominations are to be made by the guidance counselor(s) and/or principals of each school to the Barton College Scholarship Committee.

The recipient must meet the following minimum requirements: SAT score of at least 1,000, unweighted high school grade point average of a 3.40 on a scales of 4.00, and rank in the upper ten percent of the high school class (where available). Demonstrated leadership potential and exemplary extracurricular performance are also weighed heavily in the selection process.

Alexis competed in a Barton’s selective, early acceptance program that allows high school students who meet GPA and test score requirements to be accepted directly into the nursing program without competing for upper-level courses at the conclusion of the sophomore year.

As a Nursing Scholar, Alexis met rigorous academic requirements including maintaining a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher and having an ACT composite score of 24 or higher; or SAT 1170 or higher (Evidence-based Reading, Writing, and Math).