(L TO R) Anna Minton , Will Sharp, and Brooke Kauchak
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2017
CONTACT:
Anne Weinberg
Phone: (802) 275-8999
Email: AnneKTW64@gmail.com
Among the many honors bestowed upon graduating seniors last week were two scholarships established in honor of Granville community leaders and distributed annually by the Granville Community Foundation. While these scholarships are important for the financial support they provide students, they also tell a story about the exceptional work being done by young adults in our community.
The Daly Scholarship, established by the 2005 Granville Bicentennial Commission in honor of its Chair, Dick Daly, is awarded annually to one graduating senior who has exhibited academic achievement, good citizenship, and positive influence while at Granville High School. The Foundation has awarded over $15,000 in Daly Scholarship funds to Granville students since its inception.
While at Granville High School, this year’s Daly Scholarship winner Brooke Kauchak, logged countless hours and months of hard work towards the expansion of Granville Schools’ Land Lab. Kauchak describes the Land Lab as “dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and appreciation of wildlife in [the] community.” She and a team of dedicated students, under the direction of AP Environmental Sciences Instructor, Jim Reding, worked hard to address the Land Lab’s “financial and education benefits for our township” and to drum up support for the expansion. The experience paid off. Groundbreaking for the new 30-acre expansion took place in April.
Driven by her dual commitment to community and environment, Kauchak also applied and was accepted into the Licking County Schools High School Mentorship Program. Paired with an Environmental Education Specialist at the Licking County Soil and Water Conservation District, Kauchak came away ready to “devote my education to developing urgent solutions to combat pressing environmental issues and discover innovative methods for success.” Kauchak will be attending The Ohio State University majoring in Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability.
The Sellers Scholarship, also awarded by the Granville Community Foundation, was established in memory of community leaders Charlie and Marie Sellers. Each year it rewards two students for their role as “active leaders with great pride in both the Granville community and Granville Schools.”
Sellers Scholarship recipient Anna Minton notes that “living in a village like Granville makes it easy to have an active role in the community. Whether it is through the school system, your church, or other civic and volunteer groups, Granville is a place where serving others is not only encouraged, but expected.” Minton’s volunteer experiences are many, but she is perhaps most proud of her work as founding member of the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Feed the Dream Community Food Drive. Minton says she was “shocked and dismayed” to learn that 3 in 10 children in Licking County go hungry each day. Determined to make a difference, her family and small group of community members set out to raise one ton of food annually for those in need. Minton helped launch the organization’s social media presence, drafted letters to the editor, and crafted talking points for the organization. Over the last five years, Feed the Dream has raised donations equivalent to nearly 250 tons of food.
An aspiring journalist, (Minton served as Editor-in-Chief for GHS BluePrints publications and was also a three-time winner of the Ohio State Journalism Contest), Minton has been accepted into Miami University’s prestigious Writing Scholars program and will be double majoring in Journalism and Political Science.
For Sellers Scholarship recipient Will Sharp, giving back to community has always been a family affair. He began volunteering alongside his grandfather, whose work providing legal expertise for the Licking Land Trust helped preserve and protect over 700 acres in Licking County. That experience inspired Sharp to join efforts to expand the Granville Schools’ Land Lab. As a student leader, he saw his meetings with local officials, school board members, and other community organizations as an opportunity to work for “a cause bigger than myself.”
Sharp also deeply values his experience teaching Sunday School at First Presbyterian Church in Granville, noting that he “learned time management skills, the art of giving back, the importance an older peer can have on children, and that giving trumps receiving in all cases.” Although Sharp lost his grandfather to cancer, he is determined to “give graciously back to the world as he did.” Sharp, who served as Class President for his class and a Youth in Government member, will be attending The Ohio State University majoring in Business and minoring in Environmental Sciences.
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