Polk County Public Schools
Three 2010 graduates of Polk County high schools were awarded the Polk County Farm Bureau/Young Farmer And Rancher Scholarships. Each scholarship was for $500 and is given by the Farm Bureau to high school students planning to pursue a career in agriculture. Scholarships are awarded to students for excelling academically, strong leadership skills and involvement in agriculture-related activities.
Scholarship recipients were:
Justin Hunter, Bartow High: Justin will attend Hillsborough Community College this fall and will pursue a degree in landscape design/grounds management. Justin plans to attend the University of Florida after Hillsborough and has a career goal to own a landscaping business.
Morgan McKenna, Lake Wales High: Morgan will attend the University of Florida this fall and plans to study either agricultural operations and management or horticultural sciences. Morgan’s family history in the citrus industry has inspired her to pursue a agriculture career where she hopes to make a difference on the vast range of challenges facing farmers.
Addison Snively, Winter Haven High: Addison will attend Auburn University in the fall and study equine science with a pre-veterinary concentration. Her volunteer work at a veterinary hospital and involvement with equine therapy has shaped her career goals to be a veterinarian. She hopes to make a difference in the lives of disabled individuals through hippotherapy. Hippotherapy is the science of using horses in physical therapy to aid individuals with movement dysfunction.
A team of George Jenkins High students won a fourth place award at the 2010 Florida Restaurant And Lodging Association’s ProStart Culinary Competition held in Orlando. ProStart is a program for high school students focusing on training and job skills in the restaurant, lodging and hospitality industries.
ProStart was developed to increase the quality and employability of high school students to work in the hospitality management profession. ProStart is meant to develop students for careers and higher education.
George Jenkins students Michael Hagan, Sarah Hemming and Erica Martin won fourth place in the waiter’s relay competition. Hagan and Hemming are 2010 graduates of George Jenkins High and Martin is senior there in 2010-2011.
