SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO THREE HIGDON DESCENDANTS
Higdon Family Association scholarships will help three deserving young people pursue their studies this fall at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah; the University of Oregon in Eugene; and Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. The scholarship committee had a hard time choosing from a number of excellent applicants, according to Bill Higdon, chairman.
Those who received $1,000 awards are: Catherine Nuckols, of Mesa, Arizona; Lisa Senn, of Murphys, California; and Wes Smith, of Leitchfield, Kentucky. Each was recommended by a grandparent.
Catherine Nuckols, granddaughter of HFA member Nola Higdon Matthews, plans to major in Latin American Studies and Music at Brigham Young. Lisa Senn, granddaughter of HFA member Carol Higdon Tyrrell, wants to study at the University of Oregon to become an architect. Wes Smith, of Leitchfield, Kentucky, grandson of HFA member and historian Eugene Smith, will major in physical therapy at Western Kentucky.
Catherine Nuckols, granddaughter of HFA member Nola Higdon Matthews, plans to major in Latin American Studies and Music at Brigham Young. Lisa Senn, granddaughter of HFA member Carol Higdon Tyrrell, wants to study at the University of Oregon to become an architect. Wes Smith, of Leitchfield, Kentucky, grandson of HFA member and historian Eugene Smith, will major in physical therapy at Western Kentucky.
"One of my greatest passions is music," Catherine Nuckols writes. She has taken piano lessons since the age of five, has been studying voice for six years, and has sung in school choirs. Her ninth grade choir director named her "Most Outstanding Musician." This year, her senior year, she was in the concert choir and the jazz/madrigal choir. "I write my own songs and find great personal satisfaction in creating a piece of music that's all my own," she says.
During her sophmore and junior years, she, her parent, Bryan and Meg, her sisters, Lauren and Morgan, and her brother, Jacob, lived in Guaymas, Mexico. She describes her time there as "quite possibly the largest milestone of my life." There was no high school choir to sing in, but she "taught basic piano to four boys in an orphanage." She also taught herself Spanish, "utilizing various grammar rulebooks and listening to music in Spanish," made many friends, and "came to know and love the Mexican culture as much as my own." She took Advanced Placement Spanish during her senior year back in Mesa. Her plans are "to continue learning about the language and the culture" and "to be able to pass on my passion for the culture to those around me."
A scholarship award from the HFA in 2007 helped Lisa Senn with her course work at Cuesta Community Clooleg in San Luis Obispo, California. She has earned three associate degrees from Curest, where she took some architecture classes. Now, as she explains, she plans "to futher expand my education in the field of architecture with a concentration in sustainable environments." She wants to learn more about green building and design. "Through Cuesta's educational courses, community events throughout San Luis Obispo and through the American Institute of Arhitecture Students (AIAS) organization, I have developed a passion towards sustainability and its role in the world of arhitecture."
In December 2009, she attended an AIAS sponsored event in Denver, Colorado, where, in four days of workshops, conferences, tours and design fairs, she learned more about green building. She enrolled in a course, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, sponsored by the United States Green Building Council, "with intentions of becoming LEED accredited as an emerging architect."
Lisa plans to become an Oregon resident to take advantage of in-state tuition as she continues her schooling at the University of Oregon.
Wes Smith received a Higdon scholarship in 2009 to attend Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky wherehe maintained a very good grade-point average and was on the Dean's List. This fall he plans to enroll in Western Kentucky University to work toward a bachelor's degree in exercise science. He hopes eventually to earn a doctorate in physical therapy and open his own clinic.
Wes excelled in his studies and in athletics in high school. He was on the track team for two year and on the basketball team for four years. He received awards for leadership and was captain of the basketball team his senior year. He participated as well in such organizations as student council, pep club, and National Honor Society. He continues to be involved in activiites at St. Paul Catholic Church in Leitchfield. Wes has Higdons in his ancestry on both his grandfather Eugene's and his grandmother Georgetta's sides of the family, tracing it back to Colonial Maryland Higdons Jon and Millicent.
The Higdon Family Association is proud to have a generously endowed scholarship fund that helps young people, who have been recommended by HFA members, continue their academic studies at colleges and universities across the country. The application form and other information may be found on the website www.higdonfamily.org. The deadline for applications each year is March 31.
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