Alexis Klutsarits, is among five students in the School District of Lee County to be an eight-time recipient of the Carson Scholar Fund.

Eight-time recipients have earned the honor every year since the first year of eligibility, one student per school.

“Being an eight-time recipient of the Carson Scholarship is a huge honor. I believe this accomplishment represents all of the hard work and dedication I have put into my schooling and community over the past,” Klutsarits said. “Being an eight-time recipient is not an easy feat, and I am extremely proud of myself and grateful for the support system that has led me here. Being a Carson Scholar has taught me many valuable lessons, such as how to manage my time and how to continuously give back in all my actions. It has been such an honor to be a Carson Scholar, and I will forever be grateful for what they have provided me.”

To be eligible, students must maintain a minimum of 3.75 GPA, exemplify strong humanitarian values through community service and be nominated by a current educator. Each student earns a $1,000 college scholarship.

Recipients will be invited to an awards banquet on April 13.

Klutsarits said she is always finding ways to give back to the community by volunteering for school-driven service projects, beach clean-ups, and at a local church.

“Additionally, as part of my medical class at Ida Baker, I have completed my clinical hours at Cape Coral High School in order to get my CNA license,” she said. “This has been an amazing experience, as I am able to shadow local CNAs to acquire more knowledge not just about the job, but about the patients as well. I have learned so many valuable lessons at the hospital about how to give back, how to provide comfort, and how to provide quality care.”

Klutsarits is a senior with an unweighted GPA of 4.0, and weighted GPA of 5.10.

“I was initially nominated by my fifth-grade teachers to apply for the Carson Scholarship because of my involvement in the school and community. After receiving it in fifth grade, I have reapplied and earned it every year since,” she said. “The first time I applied, I had to write an essay responding to the given prompt, and I had to list all of my extracurriculars, community service, and academic accomplishments in the application. I was selected in fifth grade to represent my school: Skyline Elementary. Every year since, I have applied for the renewal/recognition, where I have to list my extracurriculars, community service, and academic accomplishments I have earned from the year of which I am applying.”

Other eight-time recipient students include Aubrey Beougher from North Fort Myers High School, Nikita Danesh from Cypress Lake High School, Natalia Gonzalez from Estero High School and Alexander Mankin from Fort Myers High School.

Students who have been a recipient more than once also include seven-time recipient Charlotte Swank from Riverdale High School, six-time recipient Boone Stewart from Riverdale High School, two-time recipient Annabelle Marsh from Fort Myers High School and two-time recipient Landon McCarthy from North Fort Myers High School.

Klutsarits said the scholarship will help her further her education at the University of Florida in the fall.

“It is helping me on my academic journey to pursue my dream of becoming a pediatrician. I am extremely excited for the opportunity I have been presented with, and extremely grateful that The Carson Scholar Foundation has believed in me for the past eight years,” she said.

While at the University of Florida, she will major in health sciences on the pre-med track. Her goal is to work as a CNA at the University Hospital during her first four years of undergrad and then UF’s College of Medicine to become a pediatrician.

“Afterwards, I am aiming to become a pediatrician in a children’s hospital, where I aspire to make a positive change in our healthcare system. I intend on doing so by taking time to hear my patient’s concerns. I believe this is the key to minimizing accidents caused by overlooking symptoms or doctors feeling rushed for time. I dream of using my experiences in order to give back to my community to make the most of families’ time and money. I always look forward to challenging myself, and I believe UF will provide me with an abundance of unique opportunities to do so. I believe this will set me up for success in schooling, the medical field, and life itself,” Klutsarits said.

There were also 41 new students honored as Carson Scholars this year:

Those new students honored this year include:

• Ella Alfaro-Maldonado, seventh grade at North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts

• Brynlee Alvarez,5th grade at The Alva School

• Ava Andrews, 8th grade, The Sanibel School

• Emma Bala, 8th grade, Caloosa Middle School

• Sophia Brown, 5th grade, Dr. Carrie D. Robinson Littleton Elementary School

• Trinity Brown, 5th grade, Franklin Park Magnet School

• Peyton Burton, 10th grade, Island Coast High School

• Victoria Busch, 11th grade, Fort Myers High School

• Olivia Da Silva, 5th grade, Orangewood Elementary School

• Madelyn Debiram,5th grade, Tanglewood Elementary School

• Heloisa Dos Santos, 5th grade, Colonial Elementary School

• Silas Dylan, 4th grade, Veterans Park Academy for the Arts

• Reagan Felt,5thgrade, Heights Elementary School

• Rylee Freeman, 5th grade, Gateway Elementary School

• Raynor Friedman, 5th grade, Gulf Elementary School

• Efrain Garcia, 5th grade, Tice Elementary School

• Brooklyn Gianelli, 5th grade, Skyline Elementary School

• Zaya Haas, 8th grade, Oak Hammock Middle School

• Melissa Hernandez, 5th grade, Villas Elementary School

• Brianna Hopkins, 5th grade, Treeline Elementary School

• Jake Kearney, 5th grade, Orange River Elementary School

• Austin Khin, 5th grade, Pelican Elementary School

• Blake Kowalski, 5th grade, Rayma C. Page Elementary School

• Keegan Lee, 8th grade, Lehigh Acres Middle School

• Kael Manning, 5th grade, Pinewoods Elementary School

• Connor Martin, 5th grade, Pine Island Elementary School

• Reef Mertz, 5th grade, San Carlos Park Elementary School

• Lauren Mickuleit, 4th grade, Lee Virtual School

• Cassidy Ordetx, 8th grade, Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts

• Alyssa Person, 5th grade, Edgewood Academy School

• Ryan Prianti, 5th grade, J. Colin English Elementary School

• Madiline Pritchett, 5th grade, Bayshore Elementary School

• Savannah Sepulveda, 5th grade, Diplomat Elementary School

• Chiersten Sodergren, 5th grade, Sunshine Elementary School

• Giada Stanfield, 5th grade, Edison Park Creative and Expressive Arts School

• Laila Tamburri, 5th grade, River Hall Elementary School

• Noelle Trujillo, 5th grade, Lehigh Elementary School

• Melia Wolter, 5th grade, Tropic Isles Elementary School

The Carson Scholars Fund, Inc was founded by Johns Hopkins Pediatric Neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson, M.D., and his wife Candy, in 1994.