Ryon Arrington receives scholarships to attend Washington University in St. Louis

2013 Aug 16

Ryon Arrington, son of Tia Ballard of St. Louis, Mo. (63146), was recently named both an Enterprise Holdings Scholar and a John B. Ervin Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis. Arrington, a 2013 graduate of Parkway North High, will enter Washington University as a freshman when the fall semester begins Aug. 27.

Arrington was the Social Justice Advocate for his high school's SSJLAC Program and also served as a manager at the Special Olympics.

Enterprise Holdings Scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit, leadership skills and a commitment to community service. The Ervin Scholars Program awards scholarships to incoming first-year students who demonstrate exceptional intellectual and leadership achievements, and who have shown a commitment to community service and bringing diverse people together.

Enterprise Holdings Scholarship

Enterprise Holdings, which operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent A Car brands, is the largest car rental company in the world measured by revenue, fleet and employees. Through its regional subsidiaries, the company currently employs more than 75,000, operates more than 1.3 million vehicles and integrates a global network of more than 8,200 airport and neighborhood locations. Its network also includes more than 6,000 neighborhood and airport offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, almost twice as many locations as Enterprise Holdings’ nearest U.S. competitor.

Enterprise Holdings and its affiliates – which cover extensive car rental and car-sharing services, commercial truck rental, corporate fleet management and retail car sales – accounted for $15.4 billion in revenue in 2012, placing it near the top of the global travel industry.

Andrew C. Taylor, executive chairman of Enterprise Holdings, is a Washington University trustee. His father, Jack C. Taylor, who founded Enterprise in 1957, attended Washington University and is an emeritus trustee of the university. The Taylor family initiated a $25-million scholarship gift in 2001 — which at the time was the largest to date for undergraduate scholarships — to support “a world-class university located in Enterprise’s hometown of St. Louis.”

Jack C. Taylor gave Washington University an additional $25 million in March 2011 for undergraduate scholarships on behalf of the company. The gift has been added to the existing endowed scholarship fund that Enterprise Holdings established in 2001.

Ervin Scholarship

Ervin Scholars are actively involved in the Washington University community and continue the legacy of the late John B. Ervin on campus. Ervin, a nationally renowned black educator, scholar and author, was dean of the School of Continuing Education (now University College in Arts & Sciences) at Washington University from 1968 to 1977.

Ervin, who published numerous articles on education in professional journals, was the first African-American to hold a dean’s position at the university. Presidents Ford and Carter appointed him to the National Advisory Council on Extension and Continuing Education. He also served as vice president of the Danforth Foundation from 1977 until his retirement in 1986. He was a life member of the NAACP.

The Ervin scholarship is renewable for all four years of undergraduate study.

The John B. Ervin Scholars Program recognized its 25th anniversary at Washington University last year. More than 1,000 alumni, family and friends of the Ervin program were on campus Sept. 14-16 to participate in "Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence: Our Names and Our Stories."

About Washington University

Washington University is counted among the world’s leaders in teaching and research, and it draws students and faculty to St. Louis from all 50 states and more than 100 nations. The total student body is nearly 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

The approximately 3,400 faculty teach in seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Brown School, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law and School of Medicine. Twenty-three Nobel laureates have been associated with Washington University, with nine doing the major portion of their pioneering research there.

The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.