Students considering banking careers are receiving a head start from First Farmers and Merchants Bank through the University of Tennessee at Martin’s Banking Career Scholarship Program coordinated by the Horace and Sara Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking. Headquartered in Columbia with branches in Middle Tennessee, First Farmers partners with the university to provide qualified students real-world banking experience through an internship. Emily Potts, a first-year management student from Lawrenceburg, is the 2024 scholarship recipient.
The First Farmers and Merchants Scholarship program awards one student per year to receive a financial award for the sophomore, junior and senior years with an opportunity to intern for two summers at a First Farmers and Merchants Bank branch. Cheyenne Stewart of Centerville, a junior management major, was the first recipient in 2022 followed by Daniel Hunt in 2023. Hunt of Centerville is a junior accounting major.
Students who receive the scholarship must be enrolled full time in the UT Martin College of Business and Global Affairs, maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average, attend financial seminars annually and receive satisfactory performance reviews in the summer internships.
“We’re grateful to First Farmers and Merchants Bank for providing this generous opportunity to our students,” said Ben Jones, UT Martin director of development. “Educating the next generation of banking professionals is important, and this program allows the university to offer scholarship recipients the best real-world experience possible.”
The Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking began in 1988 with a gift from the Horace Dunagan family. The chair of excellence connects the banking community with the university to help regional banks address industry-wide issues. Among the activities supported by the Dunagan Chair of Excellence in Banking is the annual Mid-South Agricultural Finance Conference held each August on the main campus. The conference is in its 26th year.
John Clark, former president and CEO of First State Bank, is the chair’s interim director.
The 2024 recipient is Emily Potts (right), a first-year management major from Lawrenceburg. Previous recipients were (l-r) Cheyenne Stewart of Centerville, a junior management major, who first received the scholarship in 2022, followed by Daniel Hunt in 2023. Hunt, also of Centerville, is a junior accounting major.
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