Southern Scholarship Foundation (SSF) is proud to highlight our ongoing partnership with the Florida Lottery’s Bright Futures Scholarship Program—a collaboration that continues to transform the higher education journey for students across the state of Florida.

Through this partnership, SSF and Bright Futures are working together to reduce the financial burden of college by addressing two of the largest costs students face: tuition and housing.

This 2024-2025 academic school year, at total of 175 SSF residents were recipients of a Bright Futures Scholarship Award—that is over 42% of all residents! Through our partnership, nearly half of SSF residents saved an estimated $24,000 per year in combined housing and tuition costs!

Since the inception of the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, over one million students statewide have received support to pursue higher education and achieve their dreams. That’s one million stories of resilience, achievement, and new beginnings. At SSF, we’re proud to play a part in that legacy of empowering students to succeed.

Franco Nazarian is one of those students. A recent graduate of the University of Florida and resident of the Hawksley Scholarship House in Gainesville, Franco earned his degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering. He shared:

“Having immigrated to the United States so recently, attending a university was something I was not expecting and definitely not prepared for. Although Bright Futures covered my tuition, I was still unable to cover my other costs. SSF provided me with the opportunity to aim for a better future and follow my passions, as well as introducing me to a group of people that I consider to be like my family.”