Nine recent high school graduates from Birmingham City Schools were honored during today’s Rotary Club of Birmingham luncheon as recipients of the Jim Hughey Scholarship.
Each spring, the organization awards scholarships of $2,000 per year for four years to select Birmingham City Schools seniors. Students are selected according to their academic achievements, extracurricular activities, community service, personal essay and educator recommendations. More than 90 scholars submitted applications for the scholarship this year.
The scholarship winners were:
Jaeda Davis is a graduate of Huffman High School and Class of 2025 valedictorian. She plans to study chemistry at Berea College.
Mariama Diallo graduated from P.D. Jackson-Olin High School. She plans to study international relations at Samford University.
Aneria Harris is a graduate of Woodlawn High School. She plans to study elementary education and minor in music at Wake Forest University.
KJ Osborne is a graduate of P.D. Jackson-Olin High School. He plans to study automotive mechanics engineering at Shelton State Community College.
Ashley Valdivia Altamirano is a graduate of A.H. Parker High School and Class of 2025 valedictorian. She plans to study biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and hopes to attend dental school in order to become a pediatric dentist. She is also a recipient of the prestigious Gates Scholarship.
Sydnee Allen graduated from Ramsay IB High School as the Class of 2025 valedictorian. She plans to study mechanical engineering at Tuskegee University.
Bethany Horn recently graduated from Ramsay High School. Bethany looks forward to attending Emory University and is interested in the nursing field.
Marquel Patterson is a graduate of Ramsay High School. Marquel plans to study civil engineering and continue his football career at Alabama A&M University.
Jacob Woods is a graduate of George Washington Carver High School and Class of 2025 valedictorian. He is training to serve as Alabama State Vice President of the Army Junior ROTC.
Allen, Horn, Patterson and Woods were unable to attend to due to prior commitments.
Mayor Randall Woodfin, the guest speaker for the luncheon, praised the scholarship recipients and their recent graduating classmates. During his mid-year update to the rotarians, he also took the opportunity to highlight the improvements made by Birmingham City Schools over the past school year, including the first increase in enrollment in 30 years.