Turtle Wing Awards Academic Scholarships
Turtle Wing Foundation considers community education and advocacy a critical part of their programming. Encouraging youth to be supportive of their peers with learning differences, promoting fields of service that would encourage young adults to explore careers that would involve providing therapeutic or academic services to the children and families served by Turtle Wing, and attracting or encouraging additional service providers to the rural areas they serve are just a few items that fall under this program area.
For the third year now, Turtle Wing has awarded academic scholarships to graduating high school seniors attending school in the heart of the Turtle Wing service area which is Fayette, Colorado, and Lavaca counties. This project is intended to further the mission of Turtle Wing and in turn help all children become the best they can be, helping them to fly academically, socially and emotionally.
The Turtle Wing scholarship committee was honored to have 69 applications, and they had a very difficult time selecting from such a great group of applicants. The Jack Hooper Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Colby Blahuta of Moulton High School. The scholarship committee considered whether the applicants exhibited the qualities of acceptance, kindness, inclusion, and service. This might have been exhibited through volunteerism, work or life experiences. Colby’s application stood out because of his involvement as a volunteer for Special Olympics, PALS and Teen ACTS.
Saxstin Clark, who is a senior at Yoakum High School, was selected to receive the Grow Wings Scholarship, which was restricted to students actively participating in Special Education or following a 504 Plan. Saxstin shared that “if it wasn’t for the 504 Program I would not be where I am today.” Her parents educational and supportive programming decisions along with way, partnered with her hard work, carved a path for success and now college.
The final scholarship, the Give Wings Scholarship, was directed towards applicants who are pursuing an education that will lead them to working with children with learning challenges in some way. Bailee Justus was the winner of this final scholarship. She is a senior at Fayetteville High School. Bailee is interested in becoming a child psychologist specializing in working with children with learning disabilities. Through her personal experience with dyslexia and also helping her sister who had some struggles, she understands how critical it is to have a strong support system to not only help academically but also with self-esteem and social issues.
Turtle Wing Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization which helps children with academic,social-emotional, behavioral and/or developmental needs and provided early intervention and supplemental services to over 300 children last year with thousands more being impacted by community education and advocacy programming.
To learn more about Turtle Wing Foundation “like” their Facebook page or visit www.turtlewingfoundation.org or contact managing director, Susie Shank, at (979) 505-5090.