RALEIGH — North Carolina State College of Management Accounting now has a diversity scholarship program.

Established by Daniel Ebarb of Knightdale, N.C., $1,000 is awarded to an outstanding LGBT-identified undergraduate student who is enrolled in the program.

It was established in as a way to honor the memory of Ebarb’s friend Orlando Ware, who was his mentor and partner.

The Orlando Ware Memorial Scholarship’s guidelines state that the person who receives it must show good academic standing, have a 3.0 grade point average and must be actively pursuing a degree. It is needs based and applicants must show necessity, as well as their advocacy for or contribution toward the LGBT community at the university.

Ebarb credits Ware with being instrumental in Ebarb’s life-changing experience at a time when he was completing drug rehabilitation. Ware was non-judgmental and helped champion Ebarb during those difficult days.

The university’s website reported, “Among other personal values, Orlando didn’t believe in judging people or holding grudges,” Ebarb said. “He helped me learn that it was better to give than to receive, how to take responsibility for my faults, and how to take all the bad things and make them a positive. He also taught me to never hold back on my dreams just because they seem farfetched or unattainable,” he said.

For more information, visit mgt.ncsu.edu.