Making a difference where it Matters Most. - AK Steel

Making a difference where it matters most.The AK Steel Sons and Daughters Scholarship program makes a difference where it mattersmost–right here within our own AK Steel families. It’s a program designed specifically for AKSteel employees, and it rewards students for outstanding academic achievement, leadershipand community involvement.Through The AK Steel Foundation, the company supports numerous community and charitablecauses every year. The Sons and Daughters Scholarship program is a proud example of whyAK Steel is a respected company and solid corporate citizen.The original completed and signed application form must be received atThe Middletown Community Foundation with a postmark dated on or before December 31, 2012.

AK Steel Sons and Daughters ScholarshipsTerms of Eligibility and Application Procedure 2013PurposeThe AK Steel Sons and Daughters Scholarships are intendedto recognize and reward outstanding high school academicand non-academic achievements, and to provide financialassistance to deserving scholars pursuing a bachelor’s degreeon a full-time basis from an accredited U.S. state or privatenot-for-profit college or university. The scholarship does notcover attendance at for-profit colleges, for-profit universitiesor trade schools.The scholarships are awarded for payment of authorizedcollege expenses of $5,000 annually, renewable for amaximum of three years, for a total potential scholarship of$20,000. Authorized expenses are tuition, academic fees,books, room and board.Student EligibilityTo be eligible, a student must be in his or her final year of highschool and the child, stepchild or adoptive child of an EligibleEmployee, as defined below. The student need not residewith the Eligible Employee. However, The AK Steel Foundationreserves the right to request verification, to its satisfaction, ofthe AK Steel employee’s parental relationship to any studentapplicant solely for eligibility purposes.To retain eligibility, a student must graduate from high schoolin the spring of 2013 and enter an accredited U.S. state orprivate not-for-profit college or university on a full-time basis(for-profit colleges, universities or trade schools are noteligible) no later than the beginning of the 2013-2014academic year. If a student fails to do either, any previouslygranted scholarship award will be forfeited without anyopportunity for reinstatement. Exceptions to this policymay be granted for up to one year, at the sole discretionof The Middletown Community Foundation, for extremecircumstances, such as a significant health or familycircumstance. Such exceptions shall be granted only with theprior approval of The Middletown Community Foundation.Employee EligibilityAn Eligible Employee is a full-time employee of AK Steel, orof a wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, who achieves atleast one year of continuous service by March 15, 2013 andwho continues to be so employed at the time of selection ofthe scholarship recipient by The Middletown CommunityFoundation; provided, however, the death of an EligibleEmployee during the year(s) of the student’s eligibility forapplication will not render the student ineligible.Eligibility of Certain College FreshmenCertain college freshmen attending an accredited U.S. stateor private not-for-profit college or university in 2013 may havebeen ineligible during their final year of high school for the2012 scholarship awards solely due to the inability of the AKSteel employee-parent to satisfy the length-of-service criteriato qualify as an Eligible Employee. Should the AKSteel employee-parent now meet the length-of-servicecriteria, the student may apply for the AK Steel Sons andDaughters Scholarship for the 2013 academic year, whetheror not the student applied for a 2012 scholarship. In such acase, all other selection criteria and eligibility requirementsmust be met.Please note that this is an exception only to the general rulethat an applicant must be in his or her final year of highschool, and is intended solely to address ineligibility causedby the parent’s inability to satisfy the continuous servicerequirement. In the event such a college freshman studentis selected for an AK Steel Sons and Daughters Scholarship,such scholarship will be renewable (with the exception notedunder the heading “Renewal” below), based on satisfactoryacademic progress, as determined by The MiddletownCommunity Foundation.Eligibility ExceptionsAn otherwise eligible student who accepts a U.S. MilitaryAcademy appointment, or who receives a full scholarship(academic, sports, performing arts or other) will no longerbe eligible to receive the AK Steel Sons and DaughtersScholarship. Full scholarships include tuition, academic fees,books, room and board.It is the responsibility of the AK Steel Sons and DaughtersScholarship recipient and the Eligible Employee to notify TheAK Steel Foundation immediately if the student accepts a fullscholarship subsequent to being awarded an AK Steel Sonsand Daughters Scholarship.The AK Steel Foundation reserves the right to giveconsideration to, and render decisions based upon,circumstances not mentioned or anticipated herein regardingstudent or employee eligibility. In all such cases, theinterpretation of circumstances and decisions rendered byThe AK Steel Foundation are final.How to ApplyEligible students should complete an application formand mail it to The Middletown Community Foundation inMiddletown, Ohio, at 300 North Main Street, Suite 300,Middletown, OH 45042. Portions of the application mustalso be completed and signed by the Eligible Employee andthe student’s high school principal or guidance counselor.The original completed and signed application form must bereceived at The Middletown Community Foundation with apostmark of or prior to December 31, 2012. It is theresponsibility of the applicant to obtain verification that thecompleted application was received by The MiddletownCommunity Foundation with a postmark of or prior toDecember 31, 2012. Application forms, which include theseTerms of Eligibility and Application Procedures, are availablefrom the following:• The Human Resource department or representative atyour plant location• As a printable form on the home page of AK Steel’s Website (www.aksteel.com)• The AK Steel Foundation9227 Centre Pointe DriveWest Chester, OH 45069(513) 425-5038• The Middletown Community Foundation300 North Main St., Suite 300Middletown, OH 45042(513) 424-7369Selection of Scholarship RecipientsThe administration of the AK Steel Sons and DaughtersScholarship program is conducted by The MiddletownCommunity Foundation. Final scholarship recipients areselected by an independent committee of collegeprofessionals selected solely by The Middletown CommunityFoundation. No employees of AK Steel or members of TheAK Steel Foundation are involved in any way with theappointment of the independent selection committeemembers or of the selection of scholarship recipients,with the exception of determining student and AK Steelparent eligibility.The Middletown Community Foundation will determinesemifinalists based on SAT and ACT scores (either score isacceptable), as well as high school class rank (if maintainedby the high school). Students are strongly encouraged totake SAT and ACT tests well in advance of the scholarshipdeadline. Semifinalists will be notified by The MiddletownCommunity Foundation, and will then be required to submitadditional academic and non-academic information, includingcommunity activities, school activities, work experience anda personal statement. All requested information must besubmitted before the stated deadline for a semifinalist to beconsidered as a finalist.RenewalEligibility for annual renewal of a scholarship is determinedsolely by The Middletown Community Foundation, and isbased solely upon satisfactory academic progress as a fulltimestudent and submission of an annual student statement.Renewal of a scholarship is not based on the AK Steelemployee-parent’s continued employment with AK Steelor an AK Steel subsidiary. The Middletown CommunityFoundation will communicate with scholars the specificacademic criteria and deadlines for renewal. The purpose ofthe AK Steel Sons and Daughters Scholarship program is toreward and assist students in achieving a bachelor’s degreeat an accredited U.S. state or private not-for-profit college oruniversity. For-profit colleges, for-profit universities and tradeschools are not eligible. Students not adhering to normal fulltimecontinuous enrollment are subject to the permanent lossof renewal of the scholarship, subject only to the exception asnoted under the heading “Student Eligibility” above.Sons and Daughters Scholarship recipients remain eligiblefor renewal for a maximum of three years, even if they havesuccessfully completed the requirements for a bachelor’sdegree in less than four years. An advanced degree renewalcovers a full-time second or advanced degree program at anaccredited eligible university or college.Likewise, a student who was first awarded a scholarshipas a college freshman remains eligible for a renewal for amaximum of three years, provided he or she is otherwiseeligible and enrolled full-time in a second or advanced degreeat an eligible university or college.Any student meeting these criteria and seeking to renewhis or her scholarship, must be eligible, have prior writtenapproval from The Middletown Community Foundation, beenrolled full-time at an eligible university or college andpursuing the second or advanced degree within 12 calendarmonths of successful completion of the undergraduatedegree.Payment of FundsThe Middletown Community Foundation will issue annualscholarship checks in August made payable to the student’scollege or university, and mailed directly to the school withinstructions to apply the entire amount immediately to thestudent’s account.Program ChangesThe AK Steel Foundation reserves the right to suspend, revise,revoke or terminate this program at any time, although anysuch action would not affect previously awarded scholarships.The interpretation of all aspects of the AK Steel Sons andDaughters Scholarship is determined by The AK SteelFoundation, whose decisions are final.Important NoticeYou must mail your application, with original signatures, byU.S. Mail, or by a private express mail delivery service (FederalExpress, UPS, DHL, etc.) to The Middletown CommunityFoundation. The Middletown Community Foundation will notaccept e-mailed, faxed or personally delivered applications.We strongly encourage applicants to utilize mail-trackinginformation.We also strongly encourage students to enclose with theapplication a stamped, self-addressed envelope and requestthat The Middletown Community Foundation notify you thatyour application has been timely received. You may alsorequest that The Middletown Community Foundation sendyou a confirming e-mail, provided you supply a valid e-mailaddress. Students are responsible for maintaining all recordsof receipt.The award of an AK Steel Sons and Daughters Scholarshipdoes not constitute application for, or admission to, a collegeor university. Students are responsible for making applicationto any college or university.Notwithstanding anything in these Terms of Eligibility andApplication Procedure 2013 to the contrary, the AK SteelSons and Daughters Scholarships shall be administeredin such a manner as to comply with the IRS rulesapplicable to employer-based scholarship programs.