Walker County students presented with $10,000 REACH Georgia scholarships
The REACH Georgia scholarship program that was launched a decade ago has now reached Walker County.
Two of the county’s deserving students had their names added to the list last month as LaFayette Middle School’s Selene Torres Mosqueda and Rossville Middle School’s Shaelyn Crowley both received scholarships of $10,000 ($2,500/ year) through Walker County Schools partnership with REACH Georgia.
The scholarship can be used at a HOPE-eligible University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia, or private post-secondary institution once the students graduate high school.
“This is something we talked about doing several years ago, about incorporating REACH scholars into Walker County Schools,” Superintendent Damon Raines explained. “It was going to be a huge financial commitment and, unfortunately, we were at the point where we just couldn’t do that.
“But we started the conversation again about a year-and-a-half ago and the board was 100 percent on board with doing it. We’ve made that commitment because we understand that this commitment has a huge impact (on the scholarship winners and their families). It’s a huge deal to walk away as a senior and already have that money set aside for college.”
REACH Georgia is the state’s first needs-based mentorship and college scholarship program. The mission of the REACH Georgia Foundation, according to the program’s website, is “to be the most effective champions for Georgia’s children in need and unlock the full potential of our future workforce.”
REACH Scholars must commit to follow a “rigorous educational path” in order to be able to earn their scholarships upon high school graduation. Part of that commitment includes regular school attendance, maintaining exemplary behavior and preparing to succeed in post-secondary school as reflected in good course performance. They will also meet with mentors and academic coaches on a regular basis.
Torres Mosqueda said she was “pretty surprised” to find out she had been selected after more than a year-long process of interviews.
“I just wasn’t expecting to win a scholarship like that,” she said. “After I won it, though, it just made me think that I should to continue to work in school so maybe I can get other scholarships too.”
LMS counselor Dylan Burke called it “a joy” to be part of the process.
“Selene actually interviewed for this last year and she did an amazing job with that,” he explained. “Some of our community partners (that were involved with the interviews) were able to come back when we did the signing ceremony. Our superintendent and some members of the Board were there and her family and friends as well.
“It’s really been cool to see all the different stakeholders from the school come together. To be a part of all of that was an absolute blessing. It’s all just been incredible.”
Jamie Debity, LaFayette’s principal, said Torres Mosqueda was “very worthy of the award”.
“She’s one of our topnotch students. Not just with her behavior, but with her academics and just her overall contributions to the school,” he said. “She’s one of those role models you want to have in your middle school. She’s a positive influence on all of her friends and that was evident with all of her friends that came to the ceremony. You also can see the love and support from her family and it’s an opportunity for her to have choices after high school.
“This is giving her a head start, even before she gets to high school, in choosing some things to possibly help make some of her dreams come true. Hopefully, she can reach her goals. She’s a quality person, a great representative of our school, and I’m proud that she’s our first winner. The bar has been set pretty high now.”
A member of the school’s Art Club and Beta Club, Torres Mosqueda said she wasn’t too sure yet of any specific future plans.
“I really don’t know what school I want to go to yet, but architecture is something I think I could go into,” she said.
Nearly three weeks after the ceremony at LaFayette Middle, Rossville had their own celebration as Crowley signed on the dotted line.
“I was very surprised,” said Crowley, who got emotional while addressing the crowd during the ceremony. “This means a lot because this just shows that all those late nights I spend working on stuff and deciding to do extra work while other people have free time during class has paid off. Now I can just show them that this is why I do it.”
“She’s well-respected by her peers and a lot of those peers came out to celebrate with her,” said RMS principal Robert Stinson. “Any of her teachers will tell you that she’s incredibly gifted and talented and that she always throws herself into the life of the school, whether that’s something like volleyball or her academics. She’s very complex, well-rounded and really just wise above her years.
“Shea is so deserving. She came from a very selective pool of candidates. There were about four or five of them and any one of them could have done a distinguished job, but she is just so deserving. She’s really a great kid to represent
our school and I think it’s great that our school and LaFayette Middle School got to pilot this in our district. Our school board and Mr. Raines have been very supportive.”
A volleyball and track standout for the Lady Bulldogs, as well as being an accomplished and talented writer, Crowley is also a member of the school’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Crowley added that she was very proud to represent FCA by winning the scholarship.
“My plan is to go to the University of Georgia and I want to study psychology,”
she stated. “I want to become a psychologist, specifically a forensic psychologist.”
To date, REACH Georgia has graduated five classes (2017-2021) of over 500 high school seniors. These students had an average final GPA of 3.4 and 80 percent of them were eligible to receive either the HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarships, in addition to the REACH Georgia Scholarship.
Since the program was launched, over $36 million in scholarships have benefitted more than 3,600 students in 180 school systems in the state.
Raines said that by next year, the scholarship will
be available in all of the middle schools in the county system.
“For us, it just continues to send a message that no barrier, no obstacle, is going to stop you from getting a high school diploma and then going on and doing whatever you want to do,” he added. “The REACH Scholarship provides that for some of our kids. We’re excited about tracking them, following them and adding to that every year.
“This is what it’s all about and it’s why I got into education. I want to see kids make a path for themselves and to have opportunities in the future.”