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Technology Scholarships Awarded at Classic Center

Posted: Monday March 28, 2011 • Category: General

The Georgia Technology Student Association gathered at The Classic Center in Athens for its 49th annual state conference. As the three-day event culminated in an awards ceremony held on March 12, two students were presented with $500 scholarships from donor advised funds administered by the Athens Area Community Foundation.

After competing for the Outstanding Student of the Year, Luqman Muhammad earned top honors and the E.H. Culpepper Award while Katie Cassidy finished second and won the Charles Briscoe Award.

A senior at Riverdale High School, Muhammad was working with the Riverdale Middle School Morning News Crew as a seventh grader when he first heard about TSA from a teacher.

“After I attended my first TSA conference, I fell in love with this organization, and have been actively involved since then,” Muhammad said. “What I enjoy the most are the people that I have met. I have met some of my best friends through this organization.”

Cassidy is a sophomore at White Water High School, and her association with TSA began when she was enrolled in a Foundations of Engineering class.

“At first, I still really was not sure where I wanted to go career wise,” Cassidy explained. “However, TSA seemed like a great way to start looking at a variety of career options as well as make new friends. After my first TSA event, I was hooked.”

As a member of her chapter officer team, she was heavily focused on community service, implementing food drives and recycling efforts and participating in Pennies for Patients, Relay for Life, and volunteering at a local nature center.

“TSA has helped me to grow from a shy, quite freshman to a more confident, well-rounded leader,” commented Cassidy. “Through workshops, inspirational speakers, competitions, and participation in various conference events, TSA has been the mold that has shaped me into the person that I am today. I now know that my passion is in helping others and I want to channel my interests in to a career in either Biomedical Engineering or Nursing. In either field, I know I can make a difference by helping others and more specifically helping others through medical means.”

The scholarships were facilitated by The Classic Center, administered by the Athens Area Community Foundation, and endowed by generous donors. AACF President Delene Porter provided the students with a certificate and provided Georgia TSA with $500 grants to support the Outstanding Students awards.

Porter says the mission of AACF is to connect donors with what they are passionate about, as those donors make grants that improve the quality of life in the Athens area, while also supporting statewide, national and even international causes.

“Creating a Donor Advised Fund at AACF is an impactful way to honor a loved one and leave a legacy for future generations,” said Porter. “Kitty Culpepper and Matt Dixon set up their Funds to do just that. From their family experiences with cancer, Kitty and Matt saw the need to encourage the next generation of doctors and health researchers. These young people will be inventing technologies we can’t even imagine, so it’s fitting that Kitty and Matt would want to create an incentive and reward for young peoples’ enthusiasm for technology. AACF’s E.H. Culpepper Memorial Fund and Charles Briscoe Memorial Fund invest in all of our futures while remembering two pillars of our community’s history.”

Paul Cramer, executive director of The Classic Center, first discussed TSA students with Culpepper two years ago after judging the Student of Year award.

“E.H. was a huge fan of this organization as it inspired American students to celebrate their achievements in math and science,” said Cramer of Culpepper, who passed away in 2009. “Equally as impressive was the amount of civic work these students do. Two years ago this community came together to raise funds for Leukemia Lymphoma. We set up a scholarship fund in the name of Charles Briscoe and E.H. Culpepper, both of whom died of the disease, and both of whom believed that we should invest in our youth and their education. Through this kind of investment, we might one day find a cure for these diseases. While we often hear stories about what is wrong with our youth, we also should recognize when they do amazingly good things and how the impact of two men who believed in inspiring others to do great things can continue to help others even after they’re gone.”

TSA has been so inspired by Culpepper and Briscoe that they have suggested all Georgia state chapters raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The students have the option to use the scholarships to cover expenses to the national TSA convention or save them to put toward their post secondary education.

“I am honored to be the recipient of such an award,” said Muhammad, who plans to pursue a career in television production. “Mr. Culpepper was a man that wanted to change his community for the better. It is a privilege for me to win this award in his memory, his name, and his legacy.”

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