The History of the MWVO In-kind Scholarship Awards

The mission of the Miss West Virginia Organization (MWVO) has always been twofold: to showcase the brightest and most talented young women of the Mountain State and to award scholarships for excellence in academics, community service, performance, and spokesmanship. Every year, contestants attend college on scholarships they earned in the Miss West Virginia Competition. The awards are paid directly to the college on behalf of the contestant.

In 1992, after consulting with WVU Alumni Executive Director Steve Douglas, Producer Candy Reid requested the first-ever in-kind scholarship from the West Virginia University Permanent Loyalty Endowment Fund, with the stipulation that the recipient had to be a full-time student in good academic standing to receive the scholarship. As a result, the first in-kind scholarship award in the history of the Miss West Virginia Organization was a $1000 scholarship to attend West Virginia University. Kimberly Parrish of Parkersburg won the title of Miss West Virginia 1992. A student at WVU, she applied the $1,000 in-kind scholarship, a $ 2,500 scholarship from the Miss America Organization, and the $ 1,500 scholarship from the Miss West Virginia Organization towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre.

In 1994, Shepherd College, Marshall University, and Salem Teikeo University joined WVU to provide a total of $ 7,000 in in-kind scholarships for the state winner. In 1996, in-kind scholarships were awarded to all of the Top Five Finalists. By 2001, fifteen colleges and universities across West Virginia provided over $74,000 in in-kind scholarships to Miss West Virginia and the Top Five Finalists.

In 2010, the Miss West Virginia Competition was joined by its sister program, Miss West Virginia’s Teen Competition. Most participating in-kind scholarship colleges and universities doubled their awards to include Miss West Virginia’s Teen 2010 and all the Top 5 Teen Finalists. The following year, the in-kind scholarship offerings reached a remarkable $90,000.

In 2021, the participating colleges agreed to offer every contestant in the competition a $250 scholarship, allowing more young women than ever to receive scholarships.

What started as a $1000 in-kind award grew dramatically over the next 34 years. To date, colleges and universities across the Mountain State have awarded $1,760,800 in in-kind scholarships to contestants competing in the Miss West Virginia and Miss West Virginia’s Teen Competition.

How the Higher Education Partnership works:

Every year, colleges and universities sign the Higher Education Partner Agreement, committing to award scholarships. For their in-kind scholarship awards to MWVO, the colleges and universities receive advertising in our souvenir magazine and promotional videos in our live stream of the competition. Links to all participating colleges and universities can be found on the MWVO website.

To receive the in-kind scholarship award, a contestant must meet specific requirements. The contestant must meet all academic eligibility requirements, be a full-time student in good standing, and be in a degree program. Teen contestants must complete the standard admissions process and be accepted to the college to receive their scholarship award. They have until one year after high school graduation to use their In-kind scholarships.