From staff reports
Four Beaufort High School seniors – Anna Brown, Timothy “Chas” Brown, Emmett O’Brien and Holland Perryman – on Monday were named Heritage Classic Foundation scholars for the 2021-2022 school year.
All four Beaufort High honorees are Riverview Charter School alumni, as well.
In total, 11 seniors from four different high schools in Beaufort County were selected. Also earning the honor were Andrew Doty (Bluffton), August Rios (Bluffton), Nolan Hawkins (Hilton Head Island), Ella Maldonado (Hilton Head Island), Edy McGoldrick (Hilton Head Island), Alora Orr (May River) and Corrissa Velder (May River).
Anna Brown is a three-sport athlete at Beaufort High, competing on the varsity level in track, cross country and soccer. She also has the highest GPA in her class. Brown is a member of the CREATE Club, which focuses on sustainability. Our planet’s health and future is important to her and she makes green choices whenever possible and encourages others to do the same. Brown plans to study chemistry in hopes of discovering sustainable solutions to the world’s climate crisis.
Timothy “Chas” Brown has dedicated his time at Beaufort High School to helping students stay informed as a member of student government. He creates visually appealing and informative flyers to help students get involved in school programs and activities.
Brown was a high scorer in the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad and is also an AP Scholar with Distinction. He plans to study economics at Princeton University.
Emmett O’Brien is the president of Beaufort High’s Interact Club and Class President. During his two terms, he organized students to collaborate with School District employees on the budget process. He also volunteers at an assisted living home where he calls Bingo games.
O’Brien was selected as a Boys Nation Senator, the most prestigious honor of Boys State. He is a team member at Chic-Fil-A Beaufort and plans to study political science.
Holland Perryman, who won the Ward Kirby Award, is the student body president at Beaufort High and is also president of the National Honor Society. She is a student intern at the Pat Conroy Literacy Center and sings in her school’s Honor Choir.
Perryman is active in her church and has spent summers in Jamaica building homes. She will attend Vanderbilt and continue to seek out opportunities to serve.
During Monday’s awards presentation, Heritage Classic Foundation Scholar Committee Chairman, Scott Richardson told the audience, “This is always an exciting day for the Heritage Classic Foundation, but it is even more exciting this year because we are all together. COVID-19 kept us apart last year and we are happy to be honoring these outstanding students in person once again. We believe the records of these young adults are better than ever. The teachers and administrators of our school systems, as well as the award winners, deserve special praise.”
Richardson also pointed out, “You are not just straight A students. You are leaders in your schools, communities and churches. Your interests vary from sustainability to sports to caring for the elderly.”
Six of the newly named Scholars will receive a $16,000 scholarship over the next four years. Four additional awards carry a $20,000 opportunity.
The new Ward Kirby Scholarship, a one-year $4,000 scholar award, was created in memoriam of past Scholar Committee chairman Ward Kirby and will be granted every year moving forward.
Next fall, 41 Beaufort County collegians will be receiving Foundation grants at an expenditure of $170,000. A grand total of $4.8M will have been awarded to 364 students after the 2022 distribution.
In addition to these 11 scholarships, the Foundation is funding four $2,500 annual scholarships to the University of South Carolina Beaufort and two $1,500 annual scholarships to the Technical College of the Lowcountry.
