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Education Foundation Presents $91,950 in Scholarships at Annual Event
In a powerfully poignant merging of past, present, and future, Killeen ISD honored a diverse group of Distinguished Alumni and awarded scholarships to 71 current high school seniors set to make their own mark on the world.
Killeen ISD Education Foundation Director Joyce Hodson pointed out the significance of the packed gathering for the Student Scholarship Recognition and Distinguished Alumni Awards Thursday at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center.
The Education Foundation formed in 2000. It rolled out the district’s Alumni Association in 2003. A year later, the fledgling association proudly awarded a single $250 scholarship.
Nineteen years later, the Foundation and Alumni Association presented 71 scholarships totaling $91,950. This year alone, the Foundation added nine new scholarships.
The annual dual event changed venues this year from Central Texas College to Killeen’s largest meeting venue because of the sustained growth of the donor-funded scholarship program.
"We were proud to give 71 students $91,950 worth of scholarships,” Hodson said, “but it's not just about the numbers. We know behind every one of those certificates is a real student with a real dream of going to college."
Before announcing each student scholarship recipient, she pointed out to the huge audience of parents, educators, and community supporters, that every one of the scholarships contained a story.
One of those stories intersected with Rebecca Mack, a Harker Heights High School senior and a National Merit Scholar Finalist set to graduate as the valedictorian of her Class of 2023.
She plans to study mechanical engineering but has not decided on which of her many university options to attend. She won the $1,000 Crow Family Memorial Scholarship.
“It’s a great honor,” Mack said of coming to the end of her schooling, including 10 years in KISD. “It’s great that my journey is finishing out this way.”
The top ranked HHHS senior said she will remember her many friends and especially the close-knit ties she built in choir from the elementary and middle school levels into Harker Heights High School, where she excelled and made it to the All-State Choir.
The scholarships, all made possible through local donors, are named after various service groups and organizations, and many are named in memory of family members who made their own mark on the Killeen area and beyond.
After the soon-to-graduate scholarship recipients received their awards, the program re-focused on honoring five of KISD’s most accomplished graduates.
This year’s distinguished alumni are Dr. Mary Ellen Cavitt, Alanah Lawrason, Sarah Cockerham Lynch, Dr. Sheryse Desiree Mobley and Judge Rick Morris.
Each received a framed certificate of their honor with a medal. They offered up brief remarks, often aiming their words toward the students just over a month away from high school graduation.
Mary Ellen Cavitt, a music professor, dean and vice president at Texas State University, graduated from Killeen High School, where she was a three-time All-State French horn player.
She said that when she left Killeen to attend the famed Juilliard School in New York City, some thought she would experience culture shock coming from Central Texas. Instead, she said her time at Harker Heights Elementary, Manor Junior High and KHS prepared her for the multicultural experience.
Cavitt said teachers and peers in Killeen taught her acceptance and inclusion and gave her an appreciation for diverse culture. “I was well-prepared to move to New York City,” she said. “I learned here in Killeen to love and celebrate diversity.”
Alanah Lawrason, the fourth-ranked Shoemaker High School graduate of the Class of 2010, owns and operates a collaborate farm on Whidbey Island in Washington state.
She told this year’s seniors that she recalled peers and teachers in KISD who challenged her and was grateful for their varied voices.
“Listen to those around you,” she said, “but don’t be scared to go another way or to make a path of your own. Most good things in life take time.”
Sarah Cockerham Lynch, Killeen High School Class of 1975 graduate, traveled the world as the daughter of married Army sergeants and the spouse of Rick Lynch, who retired as a lieutenant general.
Sarah Lynch was a teacher for many of those years, including 10 years in KISD. She has also been a strong advocate for Army families and groups like the Gary Sinise Foundation and Homes for Our Troops.
Lynch said it was her time in Killeen, attending Fowler and Bellaire elementary schools, Nolan Junior High School and KHS, where she learned the values of service and giving back to the community.
Dr. Sheryse Desiree Mobley, a 2011 Killeen High School graduate, is an Air Force podiatric surgeon. To date, she is the youngest KISD distinguished alumni. She graduated one year after fellow distinguished alumni Lawrason.
She also directed her remarks toward the high school seniors about to graduate. Mobley, a medical specialist and Air Force officer, said that life tends to place obstacles in our paths.
When people try to discourage you, she said, the response should be to stand fast and stay the course.
Retired Judge Rick Morris, Killeen High School Class of 1969 was an elected Bell County judge serving six terms.
Morris recalled his years in KISD schools, particularly at Killeen High, with supreme fondness.
He played football and was involved in several leadership organizations. He remembered his joy at serving as a crossing guard when he was a student at Fowler Elementary School and described meeting his eventual wife, Karen Boydstun Morris, who was Miss Roo.
Morris told the almost high school graduates that he looked at his life in terms of blocks of time and that they were on the cusp of entering the greatest of all blocks of time when they would experience the most independence they have ever known.
“You will have control of your life,” he said. Whether going to college or entering the workforce, the attorney said the key to success is to treat the coming stage like a job – to show up on time, to work hard and to treat people professionally.
Scholarship recipients include the following:
KISD Endowed Scholarships
Lolly Buckley Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Shaylee Welsh (Shoemaker)
Leo Buckley Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Tramari Randles-Ladieri (Killeen)
Dick and Barbara Burke Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Liliana Provost (Harker Heights)
Cleaver Family Scholarships $3,000 each
Riya Bhakta (Killeen)
Jo’Naysia Collins (Killeen)
Ace Connell Music Scholarship $1,000
Nicole Martinez Cumba (Shoemaker)
John and Gladys Driver Scholarships ($1,000 each)
Sia Patel (Ellison)
Makenna Fulgham (Ellison)
James K. Hubert Memorial Scholarship $2,500
Jeanelis Watson (Harker Heights)
Harriet C. Jackson Scholarship $1,000
Yahirnitza Torres Cruz (Shoemaker)
Tyler James Memorial Golf Scholarship $1,000
Yazmin Ortiz Colon (Shoemaker)
Dr. Henry Mayer, Jr. Memorial Scholarship $2,500
Aaron Yang (Harker Heights)
Brad Pfiester Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Laura Quevedo (Shoemaker)
Gary and Helen Purser Family Scholarship $1,000
Garyn Ogburn (Early College)
Beth Robinson Exceptional Abilities Scholarship $2,000
Alyssa Palmer (Early College)
Emma Allison (Harker Heights)
Mike Russell Eagle Scout Memorial Scholarship
Caden Towlson (Early College)
Subhani Foundation Scholarship $1,000
Fabian Ricci-Ramirez (Shoemaker)
Thoppil Family Scholarship $1,000
Emma Bertelson (Harker Heights)
Vernon-Cummins Scholarship $1,000
Olivia Fischer (Ellison)
Emmadell and Wallace Vernon Endowed Scholarship $1,000
Olivia Farmer (Ellison)
Johnny Watson Family Scholarship $1,000
Alyssah Scott-Padmore (Early College)
Al “Doc” Wilson Scholarship $1,000
Connor Beeman (Killeen)
Bill Yowell Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Judah Johnson (Early College)
Scholarship Recipients
CTC Chancellor’s Scholarship tuition waivers
Lauren Brooks (Harker Heights)
Jissela Cabrera (Shoemaker)
Patricia Devoux (Pathways)
Zamya Lister (Chaparral)
Alesandra Nunez-Morales (Ellison)
Andreonnah Shaw (Killeen)
Alumni Association $1,000
Nykaela Burks (Harker Heights)
Brandie Clark (Early College)
Brandi Garcia (Early College)
Ava Hugg (Harker Heights)
Abigail McIver (Chaparral)
Ethan Whiteman (Killeen)
Glenn and Pat Collins Scholarship $1,000
Damion Brown (Killeen)
Crow Family Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Rebecca Mack (Harker Heights)
De Los Santos Academic Scholarship $1,500
Rachel Ballesteros (Killeen)
Joni Lutz De Los Santos Education $1,500
Alexander Angulo (Shoemaker)
Dorroh Family Scholarship $1,000
Tola Gormley (Early College)
Educated Angels Honoring Zachary Sheppard
Logan Frishman (Chaparral)
Andreas Garza Memorial Scholarship $1,500
Avani Rouse (Early College)
Norma Gray Memorial Scholarship $2,500 each
Fabiola Barron (Killeen)
Izma Dar (Chaparral)
Harker Heights Chamber Scholarship $1,000
Lindsey Henderson (Harker Heights)
Jim and Nancy Hawkins Scholarship $1,500
Phylicia Harkness (Early College)
Heart of a Lion Scholarship $1,000
Madison Nichols (Early College)
Linh Nguyen (Early College)
Margaret Hunt Memorial Scholarship $1,000
Alyssa Cruz (Harker Heights)
Hunter Rentals and Sales Scholarship $1,500
Sophia Rios-Wallis (Harker Heights)
Killeen High School Class of 1975 Scholarship $1,000
Daniel Lanxon (Harker Heights)
KISD Education Foundation Board Scholarships $2,000 each
Haley Redden (Early College)
Deajean Turner-Finley (Harker Heights)
Ahnajah Wimbley (Killeen)
KISD General Education Scholarship $1,000
Kaycee Marjorie Caravana Gomez (Killeen)
Killeen Schools Retirees’ Association Scholarship $1,000
Brooke Ross (Harker Heights)
Monty LaBay Memorial Scholarship $1,250
Isaac Almeida (Early College)
Roy Lake Scholarship $2,000
Kera Harvey (Ellison)
Lions Pride $1,000 each
Andrea Newton (ECHS)
Nina Stinehour (ECHS)
Jerry Lisenbe Memorial Scholarship $2,000
Vonshay Burciaga (Killeen)
Morgan Family Scholarship $1,000
Hatem Muhammad (Killeen)
Bunkley Morris Scholarship $1,750 each
Onaedochukwu Eneli (Harker Heights)
Ahmad Kesbeh (Ellison)
Schlueter Scholarship $1,000
Rylie Gawryszewski (Ellison)
Joseph L. Searles, III Memorial $1,000
Samir Chebaro (Killeen)
Semper Fidelis Scholarship $1,000
Richard Sporluck (Harker Heights)
Juanell Byrd Skidmore Scholarship $1,000 each
Gabrial Jefferson (Shoemaker)
Xavier Payne (Ellison)
Christopher Penn (Killeen)
Wednesday Review Club Scholarship $1,500
Evan Kime (Harker Heights)