Local REALTORS® Provide Scholarship Funds for Six High School Students

RALEIGH, N.C., May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The REALTOR® Foundation of the Triangle's Community Service Committee has awarded a total of $7,000 in scholarships to seven exemplary students from six local high schools. 

Ray Larcher, Executive Vice President of the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® said, "The purpose of the Community Service Committee Scholarship is to reward outstanding achievement in the area of community service while maintaining academic excellence.  Each of the students has been awarded $1,000 to help support his or her higher education goals.  Committee representatives will attend each winning senior's high school award ceremony to recognize the student's achievement in the presence of their peers, family and educators.  Our congratulations to all of the 2011 recipients!"

Jamie Kent – attends East Wake Academy and will be headed to North Carolina State University in the fall. Jamie excels in mathematics, has a 3.99 GPA and wants to eventually attend medical school to become a pediatric pulmonologist. As a child, asthma restricted her from many activities so Jamie wants to help other children with lung diseases to cope with and overcome the challenges they face. She has been involved in a variety of community service organizations throughout high school and will be honored as the Salutatorian for her class of 2011.

Pamela Kass – is a senior at Millbrook High School where she earned a 3.60 GPA and wants to devote her life to education.  She has chosen to attend Wingate University this fall where she will major in education. From there, she plans to earn a master's degree and begin teaching but also wants to be involved eventually in school administration. Inspired by her grandparents, both educators, Pamela would like to be a positive influence on future generations of students through education. Her hours of community service were spent with various organizations but she especially enjoys mentoring and helping others achieve their goals.

Phillip Talley – will be graduating from Knightdale H.S. and has been accepted at North Carolina State University for 2011. Phillip's ambition is to become an engineer in Raleigh and once employed, use his skills to help others, his family and the local community. While earning a 3.78 GPA at Knightdale, Phillip was involved in a number of community service activities and found working directly with the needy and elderly in his community to be the most rewarding.

Caitlin Harmon – attends Knightdale H.S. and will attend East Carolina University next year. She plans to pursue a career in nursing inspired by the care she saw her grandmother received when diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Caitlin maintained a 4.0 GPA at Knightdale while also making time for many hours of community service through her church, Wake Cross Roads Baptist and with the National Future Farmers of America Organization.

Maggie Coates – graduates from Fuquay-Varina High School and will attend North Carolina State University in the fall.  From there, she plans to obtain a law degree and pursue a career in politics. Her ambitions include future positions in the NC General Assembly, Governor of NC and eventually the U.S. Senate. She achieved a 3.59 GPA while at Fuquay and feels her involvement in community service is what led her to politics where she feels she can represent others, including the less fortunate.

Sofia Dard – attends Panther Creek High School and is headed to the University of NC at Chapel Hill this fall. Sofia will work towards a degree in nursing with the future goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist. Sofia's community service has included hours at Durham Regional Hospital and Wake Med and she earned a 3.61 GPA while at Panther Creek.  She is fluent in Spanish and Urdu languages and wants to combine her career in medicine with volunteer work in the Humanity First and Red Cross organizations.

Deirdre Leary – is a senior at Broughton H.S. and plans to attend the University of N.C. at Wilmington. She would like to become a pediatric nurse and has her future sights set on working at Boston's Children's Hospital.  Deirdre suffers from a painful disease called Psoriatic Arthritis as does her mother. While this disease has been a challenge for her to manage, she was able to achieve a 3.33 GPA at Broughton and has dedicated most of her spare time to fund raising and supporting others with this disease.

SOURCE Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS