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Almost $20K in scholarships awarded at program

Almost $20,000 in scholarship were awarded at the Atmore Rotary Club 34th annual Academic All-Star Program on May 9 at Escambia County High School.

One-hundred-and-forty-six students from Atmore Christian School, Escambia Academy, ECHS and Northview High School were recognized at the program.

The four-year Academy All-Stars include Kyle Hostetler, ACS; Lexie Hollinger and Mary Thompson Lancaster, EA; Christiara Jones, Johnika Roberts, Olivia Simmons and Adonis Williams, ECHS; and Dalton Hamilton and Seth Killam, NHS.

Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office Director Aylia McKee served as the speaker for the program.

McKee has worked in indigent criminal defense for more than 10 years. She was appointed by the 15th Judicial Circuit Advisory Board to serve as director and develop the first public defender’s office in Montgomery County in 2014.

McKee spoke about making the right choices in life, and excellence is something “we all can strive for.”

“You only have to beat all the bad attitudes and practices,” she said. “Excellence will always entail hard work.

“You each have to make your own path for success,” she said.

McKee also spoke about the process of change, and equated it with boiling a potato, an egg or a coffee bean.

She said the potato, once boiled, changes into a soft vegetable; the egg’s shell cracked and turned into a hard-boiled egg; but the coffee changed the water into something new.

“The moral of this is when things happen to us, the only thing that matters is what is inside of us,” she said.

McKee said each one of those attending the program will be judged on the choices they make.

“It comes down to making the right choices,” she said.

McKee also encouraged the students to put God first, and that the distance between dreams and reality is action.

“Your future successes are too numerous to count,” she said.

Each student present was awarded as an academic all-star, along with the four-year all-stars.

Two ECHS students were awarded $2,000 scholarships. Roberts was awarded the Randolph B. Luttrell Sr. Memorial Scholarship, and Darrica James was awarded the William and Mary Grissett Rotary Club Memorial Scholarship.