Local Man Hopes Scholarship Propels Glen Burnie Grads

Two seniors from Glen Burnie High School (GBHS) received $1,000 scholarships last year in what was largely an effort funded by a graduate of the school.

Greg Skipper, GBHS Class of 1998, is a regional sales rep at Advertising.com for AOL in Baltimore. This year, he hopes the scholarship fund will take on a life of its own—all for the benefit of local college hopefuls.

Skipper knows he may not have met his own success if not for some help right here in Glen Burnie, and that's why he he set up the Glen Burnie Technology and Innovation Scholarship.

The scholarship is in its second year, and is geared toward seniors headed to a four-year school and pursuing a degree in mathematics, engineering, business or economics. Skipper said college aid is a real concern, particularly for students from Glen Burnie, and he speaks from experience.

"I'm still thankful that I received some scholarships on awards night," Skipper said. "I wanted to transition that to someone who is heading in the same direction, who needs a little extra help."

Skipper, 32, now lives in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. Every Sunday, he drives 20 minutes south to play recreational basketball with a few friends at his alma mater. He still has friends and former classmates who live in Glen Burnie, and his parents—who are also GBHS grads—actually live in the same house where he grew up.

After graduating from GBHS, he earned two degrees from the University of Maryland College Park in mechanical engineering and business. He then continued his business education, earning his MBA from the University of Baltimore.

Skipper was an engineer for Anne Arundel County Public Works for about six months, but left for a job with his current employer, Advertising.com.

Although he's not doing any engineering in his current job, he credits the experience with giving him an extra dimension next to his peers in the advertising business. He also hopes his story and this scholarship will inspire students to follow a scientific approach to business innovation.

"I'm in an industry that many would describe as emerging technology," Skipper said. "My business day-to-day is really to compete against Google and an array of different start-up companies that have all sorts of technology. So, it's about applying strong business principles in a technology setting."

Skipper and a group of volunteers working on the scholarship, mostly friends who also went to GBHS, organized a concert and a few fundraisers to help the scholarship grow. They hope the 30 or so applications they received last year will grow to more than 50 this year.

Seniors have until May 1 to apply for the scholarship, and the application can be submitted directly through the scholarship website here. The final winners will be selected after a review in May.

Anyone interested in donating to the scholarship fund can also make donations through the website.

Editor's note: Greg Skipper is an employee of Advertising.com, which is owned by AOL—the parent company of Patch. However, Patch is not involved in the scholarship and chose to report this story because of the local impact on Glen Burnie, outside of Skipper's employment situation.

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