SoMD Sierra Club Awards Scholarships
Rebecca Arnold is the Southern Maryland Sierra Club first-prize scholarship award winner.
The Southern Maryland Sierra Club has selected three local students to receive awards for its first scholarship program.
The students were selected for a combination of upstanding character with academic achievement and who have shown a dedication to community service with an emphasis on conservation and building a sustainable future for all Southern Maryland residents.
Rebecca Arnold, a recent graduate of St. Mary’s Ryken High School, was awarded the $1,000 first-prize award. In addition to a sterling academic record, Ms. Arnold was an active member of the Envirothon team, where she focused on conservation, environmental, and sustainability education. She is a recipient of the Silver Trefoil and the Gold award for her exemplary work in serving the community as a member of the Girl Scouts.
Ms. Arnold will attend the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall, where she will be studying international relations.
“I am so grateful to have been this year’s Southern Maryland Sierra Club scholarship recipient,” Ms. Arnold said. “The Sierra Club is an incredible organization that leads local efforts to promote and protect the health of our environment and our community, and I am inspired every day by their work.”
Caleb Wiggins, graduate of McDonough High School, and Garrett Hurley, a Northern High School graduate, were awarded $300 scholarships as runners-up.
In addition to their exemplary academic performance, Mr. Wiggins has participated in the Top Teens of America Chesapeake Bay Clean Streams Project, and Mr. Hurley has supported trail construction and maintenance, and native ecosystem conservation efforts at a number of local trails.
Mr. Wiggins will study biology at Morgan State University. Mr. Hurley will be attending Towson University, where he will study computer science.
“It was truly inspiring to see all the good work that our award winners, and truly all the applicants, are doing in our community,” said Ben Hance, chair of the Southern Maryland Sierra Club. “I think these students are going to grow into the next generation of community leaders, and help build a stronger, healthier, more just, and equitable society for us all.”