Senior students participated in the Women with Heart scholarship at Christus Trinity Mother Frances. The scholarships were granted at a ceremony for the top five applicants on Wednesday, and three students were finalists out of the 70 applicants.
“I just love the fact that our LHS students are interested in health, particularly heart health,” health teacher Sally Clemmons said. “Their videos were really good and showed a lot of creativity, and they all represented LHS well.”
Ashlynn Blankenship placed second, receiving a $2500 scholarship. Kayla McCoy placed third receiving $1500, and Nicole Hines was a runner-up placing fourth and receiving a $500 scholarship.
“Because I was a runner-up in the scholarship, I didn’t expect to receive anything,” Hines said. “However, I still received a scholarship and I’m incredibly thankful to Christus for giving me the opportunity.”
To apply, students had to create a two-minute long video demonstrating the importance of women’s heart health and present things someone can do to keep their heart in good condition. Voting was open to the public.
“My group aimed to do the best we possibly could,” McCoy said. “We are content with placing third because we still earned a significant amount of compensation for over two weeks of planning and hard work.”
McCoy’s video included other students such as seniors Elijah Watson, Roland Duncan, Jordyn Hill, and junior Copeland Taylor. They will split the $1500 scholarship among each other.
“I’m very thankful to have such caring and reliable friends that were willing to take time out of their days to help me with this scholarship,” McCoy said. “I simply could not have done it without them.”
The scholarship money can be used for anything of the student’s choice. McCoy plans to use the money toward her tuition and books at UT Tyler, and Hines plans to put it toward her college tuition.
“I feel grateful for this scholarship, and I think it will be very helpful for college,” Hines said. “I’m thankful for the Women with Heart scholarship.”
