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Five Lehigh students among 48 in county given special college scholarships

By Staff | Mar 26, 2009

David Louine

Five Lehigh Acres students are among 48 in Lee County awarded college scholarships in a unique program designed to reward academic excellence for this area’s youngest and brightest students. The Carson Scholars Fund is a national program, brought to Southwest Florida by Sanibel Resident Dr. Bill Frey. The program is administered locally by the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools with the purpose of recognizing those students with exceptional promise and to provide academic role models for other students.

Frey is a former college professor and co-owner of Frey & Son Homes who has a passion for education and an interest in our country’s youth, especially those in our community.

“Because of Bill Frey, we are able to provide each of the elementary schools in Lee County with a scholarship for one student this year, and 15 of the schools with an annual scholarship award every year in perpetuity,” said Marshall Bower, executive director of The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools. “Rewarding these students for academics as well as community involvement sets an example for all our students.”

The scholarship recipients were honored at the Inaugural Lee County Annual Awards Banquet on March 21 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, in Estero. Scholarship students were awarded the scholarship, a medal of honor and were held up as role models for other students. Each of the schools received a perpetual trophy engraved with the winners’ names.

The Carson Scholars Fund was founded in 1994 by world-renowned Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin S. Carson and his wife, Candy, to reward elementary school students with scholarships for their academic and humanitarian qualities. The scholarship is invested for college education until graduation from high school.

Devin Simons

The local scholarships in the Carson Scholars Fund — the first in Florida — were initiated by Frey, who became interested in the program after learning about Carson’s dream to reward student scholars and to promote their pursuit of academic excellence.

Frey contributed the initial $500,000 gift to the Carson Scholars Fund last fall to endow 15 Lee County elementary schools ($30,000 each) so school principals can offer a college scholarship to one student each year in perpetuity. The scholarships are based on academic excellence (3.75 GPA or higher) and community service for students in 4th or 5th grade.

Frey’s donation is the largest single gift in the Carson Scholars program since the Carson Scholar Fund’s inception.

In addition to Frey’s donation, three additional schools have been endowed by local donors The John A. & Aliese Price Foundation through T. Wayne and Mavis Miller, John and Ellen Sheppard, and an anonymous donor.

Dewey and Brenda Tate, of Bonita Springs, and Harlan Parrish, president and CEO of Colonial Bank, have made an annual donation to provide scholarships this year at two area elementary schools, and one middle school.

Marissa Schmaizried

And this year only, each of the remaining of Lee County’s 47 elementary schools were able to select a scholarship student thanks to additional support from Frey’s gift. The ultimate goal is to recruit donors to endow all 47 elementary schools within the next few years.

The Carson Scholars Fund, in partnership with the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, will monitor the students’ academics to assure they are performing at the scholarship standards. Annual statements will be sent to the students to show their scholarship and its growth over time.

Permanent and named endowments are open to interested persons, businesses and organizations for the remaining elementary schools for a one-time $30,000 gift, or annual support ($1,500 a year) will allow for students from non-endowed schools to receive recognition and scholarships.

For more information on the Carson Scholars Fund, contact the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools at (239) 337-0433, or the Carson Scholars Fund at (410) 828-1005 or carsonscholars.org.

The Lehigh Acres students include:

Serano Facey

— Devin Simons of Lehigh Elementary is a well-rounded child who excels academically while playing baseball, basketball, the recorder, and the bells. Devin plans to be an astronomer when he grows up.

— Shelymar Perez-Jimenez of Mirror Lakes Elementary is a well rounded fifth grader who enjoys reading, basketball, and playing the flute. Shelymar serves her community by participating in canned food drives and has worked with the local fire department to create a fire safety video.

— David Lounine of Sunshine Elementary has touched the lives of many in his community. He has helped neighborhood children with difficult homework assignments and served the elderly by helping with tasks around the house. He enjoys reading and playing basketball and one day would like to be an architect.

— Serano Facey of Veterans Park Academy for the Arts is an avid reader who is always checking out books from the library. He takes pride in mastering new skills and is always eager to learn more. Whenever he sees or hears a word he doesn’t know, he looks it up in the dictionary and begins using it in his own writing.

— Marissa Schmalzried of Harns Marsh Elementary is a devoted reader who can often be found in the library on weekends, Marissa is also involved in her community. She helped raise money for Christmas gifts for families in need, participated in a canned food drive for Thanksgiving baskets, and helped wash cars to raise money for the Breast Cancer Society.

Shelymar Perez-Jimenez