SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS / LAUREN MCDONALD - The Brunswick News
“This scholarship will make a difference in my life and help me achieve my dream.” — Alexis Ronning
Alexis Ronning, third from left , accepts the Glynn Academy Class of 1969 Memorial Scholarship alongside Morris Friedman, Glynn Academy Class of 1969, her brother Bryson Ronning, her mother Amy Baucum, Coastal Georgia Foundation Board Member Ellen Fleming, and Stewart Pittman, chairman of the Glynn Academy Class of 1969 Memorial Scholarship.
Alexis Ronning, a 2018 graduate of Glynn Academy, recently was awarded the Glynn Academy Class of 1969 Memorial Scholarship. The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation announced Aug. 3 that Ronning, who plans to study psychology at College of Coastal Georgia, has been chosen as this year’s scholarship recipient. Ronning said she missed her opportunity to receive the HOPE Scholarship, a state lottery-funded program that provides significant financial assistant to Georgia students. “I struggled in the beginning of high school, but I came back better than ever,” she said in a press release. “I realized college isn’t just for ‘smart’ kids. College is for everybody, and I want to be a part of that.”
She chose to apply for the Glynn Academy Class of 1969 Memorial Scholarship in hopes of helping people change for the better. “This scholarship will provide the resources I need to achieve this goal until I can get the HOPE Scholarship and continue to further my education,” she said. “This scholarship will make a difference in my life and help me achieve my dream of making a difference in the lives of other people.”
The Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation helped establish the Glynn Academy Class of 1969 Scholarship in 2016 to honor former classmates. “The scholarship’s goal is to provide an opportunity for a student who may not get to college, with financial and scholastic encouragement,” according to a press release. “As such, it looks to identify and support graduates of Glynn Academy with high potential to become HOPE Scholarship qualified during their freshman year at college.” Scholarship recipients must have a GPA between 2.7 and 2.99. They must also demonstrate financial need and must showcase the qualities of good school citizens. Recipients demonstrate active involvement in extracurricular school and community activities. “This is an amazing scholarship, but a very challenging one to complete each year,” said Paul White, President and CEO of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, in a statement. The Foundation manages the scholarship, along with several others. “The Glynn Academy Class of ’69 graduates who established the scholarship recognized that the HOPE qualification process misses some students who show amazing promise as both students and citizens,” White said. “This scholarship was established to identify and support an excellent and committed citizen/student who just missed qualifying for a HOPE Scholarship during high school.” Support provided by the scholarship will help set Ronning on a path for success, he said. “With the support of the Class of ’69 graduates, Alexis will be given another chance to become HOPE qualified during her freshman year at Coastal,” White said. “She is going to knock it out of the park.”