Two Russellville High School seniors were selected recently to represent their school in the annual Bryant-Jordan Foundation scholarship program.
Sarah Ann Morgan received RHS' Scholar-Athlete Award nomination and Yamilson Velasquez represented Russellville as the nominee for the Achievement Award.
Schools that participate in the Alabama High School Athletic Association are eligible to nominate one student annually for each award.
The school nominations are the first step in what could lead to thousands of dollars in scholarships should the two students advance to the regional level.
Velasquez was nominated by RHS Principal Jeremy Madden for the Bryant-Jordan Achievement Award.
On Friday, RHS officials learned that Morgan has been named the Class 5A Region Scholar-Athlete Award winner. That means Morgan will be one of seven finalists for the overall award.
This award honors high school seniors who have achieved success 'relative to their ability or who may have overcome an unusual hardship.'
Selection criteria include academic performance relative to ability, sports involvement, athletic honors, student leadership and civic or church leadership.
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: YAMILSON VELASQUEZ
Velasquez, a four-year soccer athlete and two-year cross country team member, has a weighted grade point average of 4.3. Velasquez helped lead Coach Trey Stanford's varsity soccer team to back-to-back area titles and state runner-up finishes.
In his junior year, Velasquez earned second team All-State honors as a midfielder and scored the winning goal in double overtime to send Russellville to the state finals.
Velasquez also holds the school record in cross-country (17:24) and a two-time state qualifier.
Velasquez has been active in the Hispanic Heritage Committee and the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration each of his four years at RHS. He's active in the Bethania Iglesia Youth Group and attended the Lighthouse Church Camp four years.
In his letter of recommendation, Stanford described the type of person he knows Velasquez to be.
“He is willing to put everyone else ahead of himself in everything he does. This is what honestly separates him from so many others,” Stanford said.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD: SARAH ANN MORGAN
The Bryant-Jordan Scholar-Athlete Award honors seniors who both excel as athletes and as students. Selection considerations include scholastic standing, sports involvement, athletic honors, student leadership and civic/church leadership.
Morgan has a weighted GPA of 5.0 and scored an eye-popping 32 on the ACT. She ranks number one in her senior class.
Morgan will earn an Honors Diploma and has a 4.0 GPA in more than 35 hours of college dual enrollment courses from Northwest-Shoals Community College. She has been awarded a full scholarship, the Scholars Plus Award, to Troy University.
Her academic honors are many, including Northwest Alabama Distinguished Young Women Best Scholastics Award, College Board AP Scholar with Honors, ACT 30-plus Club and Top 2% ACT Test Taker in Alabama, National Honor Society member and certification in Microsoft Office Specialist.
Morgan has been a varsity cheerleader three years and was on the junior varsity squad as a freshman. She has served as varsity cheer captain and media specialist and was the first RHS student to receive a perfect score at cheerleader tryouts.
She's president of the National Honor Society, Key Club President, Yearbook Editor and National Technical Honor Society Secretary.
She was chosen for the Junior Leadership Program and has volunteered at a local mission as part of her more than 200 hours of community service.
“Sarah is kind, friendly and has an extremely strong work ethic. She is one of the most driven students I have ever seen in my public education career. She has my highest recommendation for this award,” Madden said in his recommendation letter.
The next step was the area competition, where a committee of principals selected who will represent the area. Region level nominations were next and only one winner advances from each region.
The region winners will be presented to a selection committee that will determine the winner in each class from 1A-7A.
Earning regional honors comes with a $3,000 scholarship for each student. The seven class winners of each award will receive an additional $3,500 scholarship and the overall Scholar-Athlete and Achievement Award winner will receive an additional $4,000 scholarship.
The Bryant-Jordan Foundation has awarded more than $10.8 million in scholarships to more than 3,300 Alabama high school seniors.
The 38th annual Bryant-Jordan Foundation Awards Banquet will be held on April 10, 2023, in Birmingham.
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