The Brunswick News - By LAUREN MCDONALD
The Correll Scholars program at the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation recently awarded four Glynn County high school graduates with scholarships to pursue higher education. “These kids have demonstrated a remarkable potential, and we as a Foundation and the Corrells are prepared to make sure that potential is realized,” said Paul White, President and CEO of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation. “That’s what this scholarship is all about.” Pete and Ada Lee Correll established the Correll Scholars program to help Glynn County high school graduates who are members of the Elizabeth F. Correll Teen Center in Brunswick pursue a two-year or four-year post-secondary degree through one of Georgia’s public colleges.
Pete Correll is Chairman Emeritus of Georgia Pacific and Chairman of the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, among other things. The program provides an annual scholarship of $5,000 to students enrolled in four-year academic degree programs and an annual scholarship or stipend of $4,000 to students enrolled in two-year academic or technical degree programs. “Pete and Ada Lee set this up, and it’s basically to help kids that graduated from high school who have been involved with the Boys & Girls Club,” White said. Nalani Burch, Jaylon Cooper, Cekayla King and Bria McGirth were this year’s recipients. Burch plans to attend Savannah State to study dentistry or business. Cooper is headed to Georgia State to study architecture and graphic design. King will attend College of Coastal Georgia to study business and marketing. And McGirth plans to study at Middle Georgia State University, where she’ll major in pediatric nursing.
Pictured: Paul White, President and CEO of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, center, poses with this year’s Correll Scholars program recipients at the Elizabeth F. Correll Teen Center. This year’s recipients were Nalani Burch, from left, Cekayla King, Jaylon Cooper and Bria McGirth.
“These kids had done well in school, had been involved in extracurricular activities — a variety of them — and had very good college plans,” White said. “They had been involved with the Boys & Girls Club, and then they represented themselves well to the selection committee.” The purpose of the scholarship, White said, is to support these students as they work to meet their potential. “This is just one more way that the Community Foundation helps our donors maximize the impact of their philanthropy,” he said.