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The Suffolk Foundation announced the opening of the Oliver K. Hobbs, Sr. STEM Scholarship, established in memory of Oliver K. Hobbs, Sr., by his son, Oliver Kermit Hobbs, Jr. 

The current estimated value of the scholarship is $1,500. Each scholarship applicant must be a graduating senior from a public, private, or home school in Suffolk, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Southampton County, or Gates County, North Carolina, or be a former resident of Suffolk, Franklin, Isle of Wight, Southampton, or Gates County, North Carolina, currently enrolled in a STEM curriculum in an accredited college or university. 

To qualify, applicants should be enrolled or commit to enroll at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university and should plan to seek a degree in natural science (as opposed to social science), technology (application of scientific principles for practical purposes), engineering (using natural science, mathematics, and engineering design to solve technical problems and to develop new systems), or mathematics (the study of numbers and their relationships). 

Examples of acceptable majors include engineering (all fields), biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, and information technology. Students can apply for the Oliver K. Hobbs, Sr. STEM Scholarship by completing the Common Application on the Suffolk Foundation’s website. The application deadline is 5:00 p.m. on March 22, 2024. 

Oliver Kermit Hobbs, Sr., was born to Ephriam Jackson and Sarah Frances Hobbs in Hobbsville, North Carolina. Hobbs co-founded Hobbs-Adams Engineering, known today as AMADAS Industries, and he worked privately and on government councils to develop businesses and improve conditions in Sudan, Israel, Egypt, Japan, China, and other countries. Hobbs was a prolific inventor and holder of numerous patents, mostly for agricultural and industrial machinery. 

He was a Navy veteran of World War II, a member of Hobbsville Baptist Church, and attended First Baptist Church Suffolk. Hobbs was also a member of the Suffolk Rotary Club, a director of the Suffolk Crime Line, a charter member and past president of the King’s Fork Ruritan Club, a past president of the Nansemond Cotillion Club, an honorary member of the Cosmopolitan Club, a charter member of the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Archeological Institute of America. Throughout his life, Mr. Hobbs was honored in numerous ways, such as being proclaimed the First Citizen of Suffolk in 1989, having the Suffolk campus of Paul D. Camp Community College named in his honor, and receiving an honorary Associate Degree in Humane Letters from Paul D. Camp Community College. 

Hobbs also received the Horace Hayden Memorial Trophy for improvements in cotton ginning systems, Small Businessman-of-the-Year from the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, and an ASAE Award for contributions to the advancement in agricultural machinery. Mr. Hobbs was a devoted and loving family man. He was married to Frances Piland Hobbs for 57 years and was the father of Oliver Kermit Hobbs, Jr., and Cynthia Hobbs Baker.