For almost thirty years, the Historical Society of Topsail Island (HSTI) has awarded scholarships to area high school graduating seniors. This year HSTI awarded four scholarships at the annual scholarship luncheon on April 11th. The scholarships ranged in value from three to six thousand dollars.

The 2024 scholarship recipients are students from schools in Onslow and Pender County.

Gabriella Colón is a student at Early Pender High School. Her essay was entitled, Rosenwald Schools in Pender County.

Lillian Padgett from Topsail High School wrote her winning essay about an astronaut, Christina Hammock Koch, who grew up in Jacksonville, N.C.

Lillian Swan, also from Topsail High School is a scholarship recipient for her essay, A New Road to Peace about the Moores Creek Battlefield.

McKenzie Tomlinson, from Dixon High School, received a scholarship for her essay about The History of the Rosenwald Schools of Pender County.

“The Historical Society of Topsail Island is proud to provide scholarships to local high school students each year to support their educational journeys,” said Karen Gavigan, Chairman of the HSTI Education Committee. “Our scholarship recipients are selected based on academic achievement, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. The HSTI is pleased to honor this year’s four outstanding students.”

The students made presentations about their essays at the awards luncheon. Attending the luncheon in addition to HSTI members, the scholarship recipients, and their family members were Topsail High School (THS) counselors Celina McGee and Sheila Sheats,
THS Scholarship Coordinator, Jonathan Buchanan; Dixon High School (DHS) counselor Yulissa Balsamo, DHS Principal Curtis Ehmann, Pender Early College (PEC) counselor Abby Robbins, and Shannon Grable, PEC Career Development Coordinator.