IALR Awards 16 STEM Scholarships

Harrison Booth
Halifax County High School
Virginia Tech

“Southern Virginia is the perfect area (for pharmaceutical companies), because there’s
so much available land for companies to build manufacturing plants and labs. My goal is to
become a lead technician at a major
pharmaceutical company.”

Lucas Burnette
Gretna High School
Hampden-Sydney College 

“My ultimate plan is to never stop learning
while also serving others. I desire for my
career to make a difference.”

Morgan Epperson
Halifax County High School
University of Virginia

“I realized speech language pathologists
helped people with eating and swallowing
issues when my grandfather developed
Lewy Body Disease and began having
trouble eating. A speech therapist worked
with him in the nursing home…I intend to
learn all that I can… to help as many people
as I can.”

Nicholas Flood
Tunstall High School
Danville Community College

“When I finally stepped foot in the classroom,
I was amazed at all of the technology that
the students were working with. There were computers, laptops, networking equipment
and other cool devices…After being blown
away by what I saw, my decision to go into
the field of IT was set, and I have worked towards a career in the field ever since.”

Kylie Jackson
Franklin County High School
University of Mary Washington

“I will use my knowledge in animal anatomy
and behavior to conduct research and
monitor individuals or groups of organisms
in the wild. With each day, I will learn
something new and apply this knowledge
as I study wildlife in their natural habitat to
make conclusions about scientific inquiries.”

Hite Jones
Bluestone High School
Old Dominion University

“Dental hygiene is my aspired career choice
that I plan to pursue for the rest of my life. I would like to assist people with their dental health, because it is crucial to have good
hygiene in order to remain healthy.”

Mary McLaughlin
Galileo High School
University of Virginia

“Recently, I have become drawn to disease research and the role that genetics and
ecology play. The coronavirus outbreak has inspired me to lean towards disease research….This could be one of the most significant events of my lifetime.”

Amber Mize
Patrick County High School
Patrick Henry Community College

“The science of nursing is a tedious and extremely physically taxing field to be in,
but I know without a doubt it is the field for
me. I will work hard in my post-secondary education and even harder in the job I plan
to have to ensure I do absolutely everything
I can to touch the lives of my patients
and their families.”

Cale Newton
Halifax County High School
Virginia Tech

“Even though I am going off to college to get
my education, I will always have the desire to come back. Wherever I go, I will always know that all roads lead home….We also need
more doctors, and I could greatly contribute
to the health of my home community….”

Bailey Paxton
Franklin County High School
Radford University

“My end goal in biomedical engineering is to help those who need it medially and cannot afford to pay for it. Hopefully, I will be able to develop my own company that will help with
this goal.”

Ashanti Smith
Franklin County High School
University of Pittsburgh

“In eighth grade, I had the opportunity to take
Health and Human Services as an elective.
This opportunity stimulated my interest in
STEM, because we learned terms and
techniques that are used in the medical
field. I learned how to perform CPR and
how to use a defibrillator.”

Brooke Tilley
Bassett High School
Clemson University

“We live in an era where the concern about health is a priority. Many dentists view
the mouth as the gateway to the body and
look at the whole body and not just the
teeth and gums. I would love to be able to
not only make someone have a beautiful
smile, but improve their health as well.”

Taylor Wilson
Gretna High School
University of Virginia

“STEM is a subject one can never truly
master, which is why it holds such great
personal appeal. Its subjects never peak; instead, they constantly evolve to present individuals with even more opportunities to learn.”

Alexandria Woods
Tunstall High School
Norfolk State University

“I aspire to become a pediatrician, because
at a young age my cousin became very ill
and was under the care of the hospital for
a long time. I witnessed how the doctors
were able to treat her and nurse her back
to health. I desire to be able to do the same.”

James Yeaman 
George Washington High School
Virginia Tech

“Our design construction of a roller coaster
in Physics class combined science
knowledge with construction techniques to
instill a passion for learning… this
opportunity and challenging environment
was a major deciding factor in my
decision to pursue a degree in engineering.”

Kensley Yeatts
Tunstall High School
Liberty University

“Teachers are what shape the future,
and I want to be a part of helping
shape young people into whatever
they aspire to be. I want to make an
impact on teenagers and be a role
model that they can look up to….”