2009 Scholarship Winners

The Baltimore County African American Cultural Festival, Inc is pleased to announce the 2009 scholarship winners.  Excellent students from public high schools across the county applied for one of five $1,500 scholarships.  This years winners include the following:

Jasmine Gear, from Western School of Technology, will be attending the University of New Haven to major in Biology.  Her extra-curricular activities at Western included participation in the track & field team and the Green Club.  She was also active in her church and was named Saint Cecilia’s Church May Day Queen, an award for young women that exhibits compassion towards her community and the people around her.  Jasmine graduated with a 4.27 QPA and 1450 SAT score.

Also from Western, Morgan Murray, will be attending Towson University to major in Nursing/Pre-Med.  Morgan was very active as a student, interning at Johns Hopkins Hospital, singing in the Colonial Baptist Church Youth Choir, and participating in the Western Cheerleading & Pep Squad.  Additionally, Morgan was a People to People student ambassador, which led to the opportunity to travel to England, Ireland, and Wales with a delegation of other student ambassadors from various states.  Morgan graduated with a 3.87 QPA and a 1600 SAT score.

Oyindamola Ajewole graduated from Milford Mill Academy with a 4.51 QPA and a 1600 SAT score.  She will be attending the University of Maryland to study Biology.  At Milford Mill, Oyindamola was active in softball, golf, and student government.  Her honors include the National Honor Roll National Honor Society, Scholar Athlete Award, and Community Service Scholarship.

Mary Miyagawa, from Catonsville High, will be attending the University of Connecticut and majoring in Pre-Vet/Animal Science.  At Catonsville, Mary participated in the Literary Society, Philosophy Club, French Club, Speech & Debate Team, and People to People, which provided the opportunity to travel to Greece, Italy, and France.  She graduated with a QPA of 4.39 and an SAT score of 2180.

Aparna Ramarathnam was an outstanding student at Perry Hall High School.  She had a 5.57 QPA and a 1970 SAT score, but was also very active in extra-curricular activities and her community.  She participated in the National Honor Society, the Environmental Club, Asian American Club, National Spanish Honor Society, Mock Trial Team, and has been recognized as a Maryland Distinguished Scholar, AP Scholar, and by the Baltimore County Public Schools Board of Education for contributions to the school system.  In 2006, Aparna spent the summer in Chennai, India volunteering at a local orphanage.  In 2008 she interned at the Prevention and Research Center at Mercy Medical Center with Dr. Kathy Helzlsouer to study ways of preventing fatigue in breast cancer patients.  Aparna will be attending the University of Maryland to major in Biology.