Wayne Trustee Awards Scholarships: Voice Of The Township
This year the Wayne Township Trustee Office is awarding three Richard A. Stevenson Sr. Scholarships to deserving Wayne Township high school graduates who are going on to college this fall:
Jaida Woods graduated this May from Snider High School and has been accepted to continue her education at Purdue University—Fort Wayne, where she will pursue studies in human services/early childhood education to prepare for a career in helping others, especially children. As a senior in Snider’s Teaching Careers Pathway, Jaida interned at Glenwood Elementary School where she worked with children in kindergarten, 1st and 5th grades. There she also got the opportunity to work alongside her mother, who inspired Jaida with her dedication to the students.
Jaida is described by her school counselor as a kind and upright young woman who excels in overcoming challenges. In the seventh grade, during a physical exam for cheerleading, she was diagnosed with scoliosis. Frightened at first, Jaida now considers herself blessed to have been treated by Dr. McGee who set as his goal treatment without surgery. Jaida had to wear a back brace until her junior year in high school, but she avoided surgery and still managed to maintain 3.4 grade point average and go on to begin her college career this fall.
Nasia Coleman graduated in June from Northrop High School, and she will be entering Alabama A&M University this August. Alongside her academic career at Northrop, Nasia has been active in Pave the Path—a leadership program in Fort Wayne designed to help young people develop their personal brand. Nasia considers a high point in her involvement with this program to be when she was chosen to give a speech about her experience with Pave the Path at their Inaugural Gala. Through the program Nasia learned how to create opportunities for herself by networking and interacting with other people. Even though these were successful entrepreneurs, politicians and community leaders, she learned to push past her initial nervousness and assert herself to interact. In doing so, she became more secure, and now she confidently interacts with all kinds of people. “She knows how to organize and lead in pressure situations,” said program director, Jeff Roberts. Now a mentor for younger students in the PtP program, Nasia developed a team-building event for over two hundred young leaders. “Nasia has great character, creativity and work ethic.”
Na’Saya Lowe graduated this spring from Concordia Lutheran High School, and she will be attending Purdue University—Fort Wayne. Her advisor says that Na’Saya has a love for learning that resulted in her graduating with several dual credit, advanced placement and honors courses. “Her ability to grasp and analyze complex concepts is exceptional…her academic successes are many.” Na’Saya sang in Concordia’s acapella choir, played tennis, and honed her organizational and leadership skills during four years of JROTC (The U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world. Her academic successes were achieved in the face of hardships at home. She lost her father when she was barely 12 years old and then experienced upheaval as other members of her family struggled to deal with this loss. In spite of it all, Na’Saya graduated with an Academic Honors Diploma and will begin attending Purdue’s College of Visual and Performing Arts with a major in Art Education this fall.
Wayne Township Trustee, Austin Knox will proudly present these students with their scholarships at the Family Fun Day celebration this coming August 3rd. We congratulate these scholars and wish them the best in their academic careers.
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