At an awards ceremony held Thursday, May 4, Ponte Vedra High School seniors Elizabeth Fox, Zuri Goodman and Victor Manly became the first-ever recipients of the Venus Manly Scholarship, presented by the Center for Spiritual Living St. Augustine.
Established in memory of a member of the Center for Spiritual Living who died at age 14, the goal of the Venus Manly Scholarship program is to stimulate a reflection on big ideals that the students can see themselves achieving.
Eleven senior high school and home school students from St. Johns County applied for the scholarship by submitting an essay on how to make the world a better place. The three recipients were chosen based on their essays and interview scores. The winners also identified their plans for attending college: Fox will attend Notre Dame University, Goodman will attend Yale University and Manly will attend Nova Southeastern University.
In addition to the three winners, four semi-finalists also received an honorarium in recognition of their ideas and conscientiousness in applying for the scholarship: Amber Kidd from Pedro Menendez High School, Jasmine Brody from Pedro Menendez High School, John Kasting from Ponte Vedra High School and Marc Moreira from Nease High School.
Rev. Ken Wilcox, who presented the award at the Ponte Vedra High School Senior Awards Night, encouraged the high school graduates to dream large to make an impact on the world.