Scholarships for local students awarded

Smyrna-Vinings Patch is full of  and found out just how talented some of them are when its members chose the club’s annual scholarship winner.

“Upon going through all of these (applications) we kept coming up on two names and we had one scholarship to present,” said Charles Lollis, Smyrna Kiwanis Club member and lieutenant governor emeritus. “But we were so impressed with both of them that of course we had to award one, but then we said, ‘Well, we only have one scholarship to award.’ So that evening we decided we were going to create another scholarship.”

Smyrna Kiwanis Club honored both the winners, Rachel Aguirre and Breanna Lewis, at its meeting on July 20. Both girls were selected from a pool of about 15 applicants to receive scholarships. Aguirre received the $1,000 James Pressley Scholarship and Lewis received the $500 Special Kiwanis Scholarship.

Aguirre and Lewis were awarded the scholarships based on their character, good academic standing, leadership skills and their essays. At the awards ceremony the girls read from their essays.

Aguirre is a recent graduate of Campbell High School. While at CHS she played cello in the orchestra and was involved with Varsity Rifle Corps, Army Junior ROTC and National Honor Society. But she’s most proud of her participation in the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Page Program. While in the program, Aguirre lived in Washington D.C. and attended classes at House Page School. 

“Serving as a page in the United States House of Representatives allowed my dreams to mold into specific goals,” Aguirre said in her essay. “It took nearly seven months in the most powerful city in the world to realize my purpose in life. My purpose is to change the way people view and interact with each other.”

Aguirre is the first member of her family to pursue a college degree. She will study sociology at American University in Washington D.C. this fall.

Lewis also graduated from in May where she served on the executive board of the drama club and was a member of Faith Christian Athletes, president of Future Business Leaders of America and a member of The Real Majority, Beta Club and the National Honor Society.

Like Aguirre, Lewis’s college ambitions were formed because of an experience she had outside a traditional classroom.

“Georgia Governor’s Honors Program for theater taught me the true reason to pursue a college education,” Lewis said in her essay. “Our director sat down with us and explained that college was more than getting a degree to get a job. He emphasized the importance of choosing a major that we loved and can truly learn from and explore. From that experience in that moment, I’ve learned the true meaning of what it is to get a college education.”

Lewis plans to major in international business and theater at the University of Tampa. In addition to winning the 2011 Special Kiwanis Scholarship, Lewis also earned a Smyrna Business Association scholarship.

Each year, SBA awards a $1,000 scholarship to a student from Campbell and Osborne high schools who plans to pursue a degree relating to business in college.

Lewis was the winner of the Campbell High School scholarship and received the award earlier this summer. The Osborne High School recipient, T’Shawn Carter, received his award at the mayor’s State of the City address Thursday, July 14.

Kurt Johnson, a member of SBA, introduced Carter before the mayor gave his address.

“When I was learning more about him I only hope I can say the same things about my young son,” Johnson said. “He graduated with a 3.9 GPA. He was a tight end on the football team. He was a shooting guard on the basketball team and he worked part-time for three years while doing this. He plans to pursue his business management degree at Savannah State.”

After the ceremony, Carter explained why he chose to major in business management.

“Basically I like trying to be independent and trying to run everything myself,” he said. “I try to take a leadership role, so I figure business would be the right fit.”