Scholarships

Jerry and Nancy Nicklow of Pasadena have donated $10,000 to establish two endowed scholarships to benefit county residents. Scholarships will be awarded for the spring term. Call 410-777-2515 for information.

South River High School senior Caitlin Byrnes says her parents have been stressing the importance of college since she was young, and though she listened to the message, she didn't think it applied to her. The Crofton resident would consider the family hardships — her father struggling through a myriad of illnesses since his childhood, her mother never fulfilling her dreams of going to college because of a disability — and she didn't see how...

"Scholarships for Scholars" awards scholarships to qualified seniors in public and private Anne Arundel high schools. The deadline for applications is Feb. 9. Students with a GPA of 3.5 or more, combined SAT scores of at least 1650, or ACT scores of at least 25 are encouraged to apply. Students may apply in two academic areas. Applications are available through high school guidance or career counselors, and may also be downloaded at aacps.org/sfsinc/howtoapply.asp. Information: 410-626-7013 or go to aacps.

The Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation, in conjunction with Harford Community College, hosted the inaugural Adam Thompson Memorial 5K Run/Walk Sunday, April 22. Despite the cold and rainy day, more than 200 runners and walkers participated in the event at HCC, raising nearly $17,000. Less than a year ago, Mr. Thompson, an HCC student and recent North Harford High graduate, was tragically killed in an auto accident at the age of 19. His mother, Pat, a nurse at Upper Chesapeake Health and a nursing instructor at the college, created the event to honor her son and to raise funds for two scholarship opportunities - one through HCC and the other through the UCH Foundation.

As part of its educational mission, the Basketball Academy awards a scholarship to one player on each participating team as chosen by the head coach. Following is the list of this year's winners: Girls Aberdeen: Bri Jones Digital Harbor girls: Jaida Scarborough Dunbar: Damisha Hazelton Poly: Teira Pendleton Randallstown: Khadijah McIntyre Woodlawn: Kiaron Bailey Boys City: Alajuwan Fisher Digital Harbor: Gabe Shongo Dunbar: Evan Singletary Edgewood: Sean Hensley Edmondson: Tony Jones Lake Clifton: Rodney Hawkins Largo: Jeffrey Garvin Milford Mill: Jawuan Wilson New Town: Shawn Magginson Owings Mills: Ahamad Wilson Patterson: Kwynten Brooks Patterson Mill: J.J. Butler Randallstown: Christopher Manning St. Frances: Cory Jones (No winner was given for Friendly.)

Kudos to The Sun for two page one stories that clearly illustrate the hypocrisy of the Democrat-controlled legislature. In the same session that the legislature rewarded illegal immigrants with in-state tuition breaks, it penalized hardworking, high-achieving Maryland citizens by revoking their Distinguished Scholars awards. The net result of these actions will be to attract illegal immigrants to Maryland with services (educational, medical, etc.) paid for by taxpayers, and discourage the best students from remaining here during their college years and beyond.

Howard County Special Olympics will award two $1,500 scholarships to students who have committed to the program as volunteers and advocates for the athletes. The Jackie Burk Memorial Award for Outstanding Student Volunteer for Special Olympics Howard County was created in 2004 by Jack and Linda Burk in memory of their daughter. Interested students must complete an application, provide a recommendation from a Special Olympics coach, management team member or volunteer coordinator, and write a 500-word essay about their experiences as a volunteer.

Barbara Girdler Music Scholarship - A scholarship in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded to a qualified Howard County High School band student graduating in Spring 2012 who plans to pursue a music education degree from a four-year college or university. Eligibility requirements and applications are available in high school guidance offices and online at http://www.girdlermusic.org . The application deadline is Fri., April 27.

Traneika Fleet wants to become a nurse and help cancer patients. Josh Greenspan aims to be an aerospace engineer. And classical singer Yoon Jung Kim and actor Delante Desouza both dream of performing on the professional stage. These Baltimore students are one step closer to their goals after receiving $500 scholarships awarded recently by the Korean-American Grocers & Licensed Beverage Association of Maryland Inc., known as KAGRO. The group, whose mission includes helping Korean-American retailers adapt to American culture and business practices, launched its scholarship program in 1995.

A fourth-grader at Havre de Grace Elementary School has been named a 2012 Carson Scholar for her academic achievement and inspiring essay written about one of her teachers. Gabriella Vega is the winner of a $1,000 Ben Carson reading scholarship, which will go toward her college education. She was honored during the Havre de Grace City Council meeting March 19, and even had the dubious honor of sitting on the dais during the first part of the meeting. According to the scholarship's website, carsonscholars.org, the award is given to students between fourth and 11th grades "who excel academically and are dedicated to serving their communities.

Three Harford County high school seniors were presented scholarships from the William J. Sacco Critical Thinking Foundation on March 11. Receiving the ninth annual Dr. William J. Sacco Awards for Excellence in Mathematics were Bel Air High School's Michael Boom and C. Milton Wright High School's Tom Fowler. The Foundation also presented the first William J. Sacco Mathematics Community Award to Hope Kerr, who also attends C. Milton Wright. The scholarship accompanying the Award for Excellence in Mathematics presented to Michael and Tom is for $1,000.

The Ames United Methodist Church Scholarship Committee has applications available for the 2012 Ames United Methodist Church Scholarship for graduating high school seniors residing in Harford County. To request a copy of the scholarship packet and for more information, email Ames UMC Scholarship Committee, amesumcscholarshipcommittee@live.com . Completed applications must be postmarked by April 15. All incomplete applications and those that are incomplete will be rejected and returned to the applicant with no further action taken for consideration by the scholarship committee.

Students beware: Scholarship providers aren't just going by your application to learn about you. They're also checking you out on Google and social media sites, according to a recent survey. And what they uncover — the good or the bad — could be the tie-breaker when it comes to deciding between you and another candidate. "Students need to recognize that the colleges and scholarship providers are increasingly looking at this," says Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of Fastweb.com, a scholarship site that conducted the survey.

Goucher will mark Sunday's home contest against Lasell by celebrating the life of a player's late mother. Patti Mishaw, the mother of Gophers junior goalkeeper Connor Mishaw, died in March 2011 after battling cancer. Another son, Austin, is a junior midfielder for Lasell. Sunday's game between the two teams has been rededicated as the Patti Mishaw Memorial Lacrosse game. Fans who attend the contest will be charged $5 with all proceeds benefitting the Patti Mishaw Foundation, which offers scholarship opportunities to students who wish to pursue careers in education.

As part of the academic aspect of the annual Basketball Academy two major scholarships are awarded to girls and boys participating in the event held last month, the $1,000 James Thomas Hubbard Memorial Scholarship and the $500 Downtown Locker Room Scholarship. Digital Harbor's Kirsten Gaither-McDonald and Lake Clifton's Aaron Parks received the Hubbard scholarships while Aberdeen's Nia Alleyne and St. Frances's Miles Code received the Downtown Locker Room awards. The Hubbard scholarships were created by his family to honor the a senior girl and boy “making the greatest contribution to his or her team in terms of overall excellence in participation, performance and leadership while maintaining a minimum 2.5 GPA.” The Downtownn Locker Room scholarship honors the players with the highest cumulative GPAs one each team in the tournament.