ine 11th grade girls shared their summer enrichment experiences as PEF Passport Scholars with members of the community on Thursday evening. The young women constructed engaging visual displays and acted as docents during a reception to honor their achievements.
“Passport Scholars represent the wonderful potential of Hamilton County high school students. These young women went through a rigorous application process last fall, including interviews with a panel of community members. You could see how much they have grown from those first meetings just by talking with them during the Showcase. “We’re so proud of our 2012 Scholars!” said Stacy Lightfoot, vice president of College and Career Success and Passport Scholars oordinator.
Passport Scholars provides guidance and funding for a small number of girls to participate in prestigious summer experiences each year. Passport Scholars enter the program with little exposure to the larger world, and after participating return more confident, capable and open-minded. With the opportunity to travel, meet new people and see new worlds. Scholars are better equipped to make a difference in their own lives and communities.
Brittney-Fay King of Red Bank High said, “Being chosen as a Passport Scholar has given me more opportunities for growth and to do things I would have never gotten to do. I was independent before the program, but Passport gave me more knowledge about what I need to do to achieve more in life.”
The summer experience lays a foundation upon which to build for college and for life. In addition to funding the summer programs, Passport Scholars helps the participating girls set and achieve long-term goals and offers one-on-one mentoring and college counseling.
Passport Scholars began in 2001 as an independent scholarship program and is now a partnership between PEF, the Hamilton County Department of Education, and the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga with support from the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation and Kitty & Hacker Caldwell. For more on PEF’s College and Career Success initiatives, visit pefchattanooga.org/our-impact/college-and-career.
The PEF Scholars were:
Samantha Bond – East Hamilton High
Fir Acres Workshop in Writing and Thinking at Lewis & Clark College
Portland, OR
Shannon Carney – Soddy Daisy High
Smith Summer Science and Engineering Program for High School Girls at Smith College
Northampton, MA
Hong Chen – East Ridge High
Excel Summer Program at Amherst College
Amherst, MA
Anna Derthick – CSAS
Robert E Cook Honors College Summer Honors Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA
Taylor James – East Hamilton High
Robert E Cook Honors College Summer Honors Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA
Brittney-Fay King – Red Bank High
Explore-A-College Program at Earlham College
Richmond, IN
Violet Parsons – East Ridge High
Explore-A-College Program at Earlham College
Richmond, IN
Sara Sanchez – Central High
Choate Volunteer Corps at Choate Rosemary Hall
Wallington, CT
Brooke Souders – Ooltewah High
Lone Star Scholars Academy at Texas Lutheran University
Seguin, TX