Mike Kevlin (left), Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area president and club member Valerie Copley (right) congratulate Kingwood High students Sydney Dimarco and Audrey Miller (center) for receiving the The Harvey Trigg Memorial Criminal Justice Scholarship. The scholarships were presented by Ms. Copley, daughter of the late Harvey Trigg. Mr. Trigg was a 22 year veteran of the Houston Police Department. Scholarship applicants must have an interest in law enforcement while furthering their college education. These young ladies were just two of the seven Humble ISD scholarships announced in various categories at club's weekly luncheon meeting.
The Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area announced scholarships for seven Humble Independent School District (HISD) high school students at their May 19th luncheon meeting at Tin Roof BBQ in Atascocita.
Several of the student recipients attended the meeting in person to accept their scholarships and speak to the Rotarians about their future college plans. Recipients who could not attend in person were able to provide a video presentation to the club.
The students were introduced to the club by Melinna Lopez, Resource Development Coordinator, Humble ISD Education Foundation. Before her introductions, she said these scholarships were part of the district’s community partnerships to provide college scholarship money to deserving Humble ISD students.
Ms. Lopez said the HISD Educational Foundation raised $118,000 this year and it was able to recommend the awarding of 106 Humble ISD scholarships through its community partnership program. The Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area participates in this program and relies on the school district to publicize scholarships to students and their parents.
A panel of judges from the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area met and reviewed the scholarship applications.
The Community Award Recognizing Excellence in Service (C.A.R.E.S.) Scholarship of $5,000 was awarded to Ansley Gill from Kingwood High School. The C.A.R.E.S., Scholarship is awarded to a Humble ISD high school senior based on community service, financial need, academic record, community/extracurricular involvement, leadership and work experience. The award money must be used within 12 months after high school graduation and must be for tuition, fees, and books.
The Career and Technical Education (C.T.E.) Scholarship of $3,000 was awarded to Parker Ryan from Kingwood Park High School. The C.T.E. scholarship is awarded to a HISD senior who plans to continue his/her education in college or vocational/technical training. This scholarship is awarded to a Humble ISD high school senior based on community service, financial need, academic record, community/extracurricular involvement, leadership and work experience. The scholarship must be used within 12 months after high school graduation and must be for tuition, fees, and books.
The Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area’s Four-Way Test Essay Scholarship was open to all Humble ISD senior students. Applicants were required to submit a 500-word essay on the topic, “How I’ve applied high ethical standards using Rotary’s Four Way Test in my life.”
The Four-Way Test is 1. Is it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships? and, 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Essays were judged based on originality and clarity. There were first, second and third place recipients.
Awarded First place with a $2,000 scholarship was Tessa McNair from Kingwood High School. She applied the Four-Way Test to “mean girls” in high school. A $1,500 Second place scholarship was awarded to Sejal Gupta from Quest Early College High School in Humble. Miss Gupta used the Four-Way Test to help her manage a conversation with her family regarding religion. Taking third place and $1,000 was Channing Hanks from Atascocita High School. She used the Four-Way Test and applied it to many hours volunteering for various community services.
Awarded First place with a $2,000 scholarship was Tessa McNair from Kingwood High School. She applied the Four-Way Test to “mean girls” in high school. A $1,500 Second place scholarship was awarded to Sejal Gupta from Quest Early College High School in Humble. Miss Gupta used the Four-Way Test to help her manage a conversation with her family regarding religion. Taking third place and $1,000 was Channing Hanks from Atascocita High School. She used the Four-Way Test and applied it to many hours volunteering for various community services.
The Harvey Trigg Memorial Criminal Justice Scholarship was created and it’s presented by the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area. It is funded by friends and family of the late Harvey Trigg who was a long-time member of the club. The two scholarships awarded were announced by his daughter, Valerie Copley, who is currently a club member.
Ms. Copley said her father had a “heart for service” and that’s what led him to join the Houston Police Department in 1967 and serve for 22 years. She said her father would say that loving people was a big part of his job and he enjoyed serving and protecting his neighbors. He believed that kindness and care were the key to his work. Even after retirement from police work, he was an active member of many criminal justice associations, served on Sheriff’s Academy Advisory Boards and served on two grand juries. He also had a second successful career as a Humble restaurateur and caterer.
The two recipients, both from Kingwood High School and each receiving $1,250 scholarships, were Audrey Miller and Sydney Dimarco. Miss Miller will be attending the University of Texas-Arlington in the fall and she is planning on majoring in psychology and computer science. She hopes to work for the federal government. She was inspired to try this line of work by her father who is a forensic scientist. Miss Dimarco will be attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham to pursue a bachelor of science degree in Digital Forensics. She wants to work for the F.B.I.’s cyber-crimes division.
Before adjournment by club president Michael Kevlin, he reminded club members that 100% of the club’s fundraising efforts go to non-profits and scholarships. This year the primary fundraising efforts are centered on the Cinco de Mayo Golf Tournament and the upcoming raffle to win a mint condition 2019 Corvette Grand Sport Coupe. He asked for every member to sell a minimum of ten raffle tickets to keep funding these programs.
Raffle tickets may also be purchased online for $100 each at www.LHARotaryRaffle.com. In addition to winning the Corvette, a drawing will also be held for ten $250 VISA gift cards. The raffle drawing will be held Saturday, June 19 at Robbins Chevrolet, 18611 US-59 in Humble.
He added that next week’s meeting will be a club assembly where we will discuss by-law changes and a possible change in the meeting location.
The Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area members meet weekly at Noon, Wednesday at the Tin Roof BBQ Restaurant, 18918 Town Center Blvd. in Atascocita. Guests interested in learning more about Rotary are welcome. You may also learn more at https://lharotary.com/page/who-we-are-what-we-do.