The Brownsburg Community Association board of directors announced that it has awarded four $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in the Brownsburg area thanks in part to a significant donation from Bruce and Margaret Alexander and with the support from donations by VLC Flying Horse Farm and Mike Strickler.
Since the BCA scholarship program started in 2017, the BCA has awarded $15,500 in scholarships to 19 deserving students in the Brownsburg area.
The BCA board said it had a difficult time choosing winners from the 18 applicants who submitted essays this year. The students were asked to submit an essay addressing the following question: “What is the meaning of community to you, and how will community be a part of your future in your post high school education?”
The BCA board now awards a scholarship annually in memory of Dick Barnes. He led the formation and founding of the Brownsburg Community Association and then, in 2008, the formation of the Brownsburg Museum. The winner of the second Dick Barnes Memorial Scholarship is Magdalena Greer from Rockbridge County High School. She plans to study musical theatre and graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
The other two scholarship winners from Rockbridge County High School are Haylie Hite and Alexander Miller.
Hite was awarded a BCA scholarship in honor of Sam and Nancy McLaughlin. She plans to study environmental science and wildlife biology at Bridgewater College and hopes to come back to the farming community to promote sustainable practices. Miller plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science at William & Mary University.
The fourth recipient of a Brownsburg BCA scholarship, this one also in honor of Sam and Nancy McLaughlin, was Whitney Abshire from Riverheads High School. She plans to attend Blue Ridge Community College to earn an associated degree before advancing to a specialized program in diagnostic medical sonography at Sentara Medical Center.
