VERO BEACH — The Democrat Women’s Club of Indian River County held its annual scholarship luncheon at the Vero Beach Disney resort. This year three $1,000 scholarships were awarded to outstanding scholars who are going to pursue their education after graduating from public schools in Indian River County.
Each of the winners has already identified a career path and has articulated plans to also continue in community volunteer activities. The winners were:
Cameron Dawson of Vero Beach High School plans to attend Florida State University majoring in chemistry and a minor in Spanish and business. It is his career goal to earn a doctorate in optometry. He is also considering participating in the Doctors without Borders program.
Victoria Tippin of Sebastian River High School plans to attend University of Florida with a major in mechanical engineering. This student athlete is also involved in varsity volleyball.
Rachael Koruo of Indian River Charter High school is only 16 years old, but she is also an honors-dual enrollment student and her class valedictorian. This multi-lingual scholar plans to be a pre-med student at the University of Miami.
Both Cameron Dawson and Rachel Koruo plan to participate in the Peace Corps in the future.
The luncheon also featured Ann Decker, who is the Executive Director of the Indian River State College Foundation, who joined the faculty in January 2007. The topic of her presentation was the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum.
She stated during her presentation that math was the area of greatest importance, and it was also the area in which incoming students had the least proficiency.
Ms. Decker herself is a graduate of Indian River Community College who went on to earn her bachelor degree in professional business management from Barry College. She also holds a masters in public administration from Nova Southeastern University.
In her presentation, Ms. Decker gave heavy emphasis on the partnerships that the college has made with local organizations that have a need for highly motivated student scholars.
These organizations include Smithsonian Harbor Branch, Ocean Research and Conservation Assn., Torrey Pines Institute, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. These organizations also provide paid internships to those students who excel in their college studies.
Indian River College is the site of the nation’s first Regional Center for Nuclear Education and Training (RCNET.)
The Indian River College has recently been identified in U. S. News and World Report as one of the Top 10 public southern colleges.
Additionally, it was rated by CNN Money as the 5th Most Affordable College in the U. S.
