The Tom and Freida Johnson Scholarship Endowment, established at the North Carolina Community Foundation in October 2000, is marking 25 years and over $140,000 in scholarship awards to students from Bunker Hill High School.

2025 scholarship recipients include Jillian Hildebran and Nicholas Phillips. Hildebran is pursuing a dual degree in science and nursing and will be attending Lenoir-Rhyne University and Catawba Valley Community College. She is excited to become a medical professional and leave a positive and healthy mark on the community. Phillips is studying accounting at North Carolina State University. He looks forward to the challenge of an academic career and is committed to making the most of the opportunity.

Students like these are the reasons that the Johnsons created this scholarship. Tom Johnson was a school principal in Catawba County for 43 years, including 11 years at Bunker Hill High School, and Freida Johnson retired from First National Bank of Catawba County as a senior vice president.

Their sons, Jim and the late Phil Johnson, both graduated from Bunker Hill High School. Jim’s five children are also BHHS alumni. While Phil’s career path took him out of North Carolina to return for family visits, Jim is still local and can be found on the sidelines cheering on the school’s sports teams at every opportunity. Most recently he was honored at homecoming recognizing his almost four decades as “the voice of the bears” by having the press box named after him.  

“We want the students to have every opportunity to succeed,” Johnson said. “Bunker Hill High School is near and dear to our hearts.”

Applications for the 2026 scholarship season will open on Dec. 16, 2025, and the deadline to apply is March 3, 2026. To learn more about applying for this scholarship visit, nccommunityfoundation.org/scholarship/tom-and-freida-johnson-scholarship-endowment.

To support the scholarship through a donation, visit nccommunityfoundation.org/JohnsonScholarship.

About the North Carolina Community Foundation
The North Carolina Community Foundation transforms the collective generosity of our donors into a permanent source of community support, with a focus on the state’s rural areas.  

NCCF partners with donors and a network of affiliates to sustain over 1,300 endowments totaling nearly $570 million in assets. More than $338 million has been awarded as grants to charitable organizations and scholarships to students, creating stronger communities for generations to come.  

To learn more about how we turn generosity into impact, visit nccommunityfoundation.org.

Media contact
Hannah Hogewood, Marketing & Communications Manager
hhogewood@nccommunityfoundation.org; 919-256-6901