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HomeNewsArchivesCFVI AWARDS 18 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

CFVI AWARDS 18 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

Eighteen Virgin Islands students will benefit from college scholarships for the 2000-2001 academic year that have just been awarded by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands from three funding sources.
Celeste Bermudez of St. Croix has been granted the Artrelle M. Wheatley Scholarship, which provides for full tuition at the University of the Virgin Islands for one year.
Cari Loveland, a 2000 Antilles School graduate, and Silka Nicole Ritter, a member of the Class of 2000 at Charlotte Amalie High School, have been designated Theodore E. Sharp Scholars, an honor that carries a $1,000 award for each.
And 15 students from St. Thomas and St. Croix have been designated to receive a total of $10,000 in Anna Walsh Scholar Awards, in amounts ranging from $400 to $850.
One of the services the Community Foundation provides is to serve as a not-for-profit umbrella organization for individuals and entities wishing to donate funds within the community but lacking an administrative and tax structure by which to do so.
Artrelle M. Wheatley Scholarship
The Wheatley Scholarship, which has been awarded since 1997, was established at CFVI by Henry Wheatley and other family members and friends to honor his late wife's dedication to the Virgin Islands. It "recognizes Artrelle's years of volunteer work with the League of Women Voters and Rotary Club of St. Thomas as well as her many other contributions to this community," Henry Wheatley said. The annual grants are for students at UVI, where Artrelle Wheatley worked for 24 years.
Bermudez, the recipient for the coming academic year, was also last year's recipient and "has further distinguished herself this year" by achieving a 3.8 grade-point average and by her involvement in the Golden Key National Honor Society. A graduate of Central High School, she is a working mother with three young children, as well as a full-time UVI student majoring in business administration.
Theodore E. Sharp Scholars
To honor the memory of the late Theodore "Ted" Sharp, family and friends established the scholarship award bearing his name. A career Navy man and longtime St. Thomas resident, Sharp served as a supply officer for the Navy at the Sub Base and was an active Rotarian and ham radio operator locally. He married Elisabeth Swinson, daughter of the then-rector of All Saints Cathedral. After retiring from the Navy, he became admissions officer at California State University at Northridge. He founded the not-for-profit International Education Research Foundation and co-authored a pioneering guide to education admissions records.
Loveland plans to attend the University of Delaware in the fall to pursue a career in economics. Her senior year at Antilles she held three part-time jobs and was a volunteer with or participant in programs of the Humane Society, St. Thomas Swimming Association, Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts, Interact, St. Thomas Pony Club, Victim Advocates and National Honor Society beach cleanup.
Ritter plans to attend Campbell University in North Carolina and aspires to become a pediatric surgeon. She has taken enrichment courses at UVI and Wellesley College; was active at CAHS in the Spotlight radio show, athletics and Moot Court Competition; and chaired the Senior Council's community service and social affairs program. She volunteered with SPARKS (Students Promoting Awareness, Responsibility, Knowledge and Service), "Graffiti Street," the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Peer Helpers of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Schneider Hospital laboratory and Beacon Schools.
Anna Walsh Scholar Awards
CFVI has awarded more than $37,000 in scholarships funded by a bequest from Anna Greene Walsh to 58 students since 1996. A social worker in New York, Walsh worked under Hulita Blyden, a Virgin Islander. After retiring in 1973, Walsh moved to St. Thomas, where friendship with James Bough and Thyra Hodge Smith led her to bequeath her estate to be distributed in the territory as university scholarships.
The 15 recipients for the coming school year are UVI students Virginia Anthony, Marthious Clavier, Steve Lawrence, Tamisha Ottley and Fyama Wenner; University of Miami students Gail Douglas, Aesha Thomas and Janine Turbe; Xavier University of Louisiana students Theresa Brissett and Julene Chapman; and Monifa Armstrong (Johnson and Wales University, Providence), Alexandria Baltimore (Spelman College), Shanique Bonelli (Syracuse University), Desiree Commodore (Morgan State University) and Trevor Julien (Morehouse College).
For more information about the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, call Dee Baecher-Brown at 774-6031.

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