The St. Mary’s County Business, Education and Community Alliance (BECA) would like to thank all who attended their annual scholarship awards ceremony at Leonardtown H.S.and also congratulate all scholarship winners.
They would like to ask everyone to remember Katherine Morris, who died suddenly this past weekend. Kathy was a 2008 graduate of St. Mary’s Ryken High School and a graduating senior at the University of Maryland.
I had the pleasure of coaching her in basketball as a middle schooler. She was a finalist for a BECA scholarship four years ago. She is no longer with us. Please take a few moments of reflection for Katherine Morris and her family.
I’m pleased to announce that through the generosity of the community, BECA is able to award 20 one-time $1,000 Scholarships for the 3rd year in a row. Actually, BECA funded a 21st which you will hear about later. We started in 1995 with four $500 awards so we’ve greatly expanded the program. At the same time, we’re only able to award about 10% of the applications we receive (20 awards out of 197 requests). Our work will never be done.
Thank you to all the business, organizations, and individuals who pool their resources and contribute to the scholarship fund. Thank you to the many SMCPS staff and the dozen or so community volunteers from BECA and other organizations who copy, distribute, follow-up, interview, and do the entire yeoman’s work necessary to make this common application process possible.
Thank you, especially, to three people: my wife Wendy, Colleen Blundell of Cedar Point, and Mark Smith of SMCPS. Without their dogged determination and attention to detail, none of this would happen.
Now to our 2012 winners. A good mix from across the County. Five of the six high schools represented. One each from St. Mary’s Ryken and Kings Christian Academy, four Chopticon (Go Braves), five from Great Mills, and nine from Leonardtown High School. In alphabetical order they are:
· Amanda “Mandy” Adamson, Leonardtown – NC State psychology major, minor in biology, therapist/psychiatrist. QB of powder puff football team, answered “I am among the most driven people I know.” Special Olympics, Applebees, first generation college, wants to go past bachelor’s degree, pays car, gas, insurance 50/50.
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