Amara Edwards, Olivia Georgi, and Maggie Mildrew
The winners of the Van Fleet Government Scholarship competition received their awards on Sunday, Oct. 25, in a ceremony at O’Connell’s restaurant in Old Town. Lara Reyes officiated as executive director of the Van Fleet Scholarship program, and City Council candidate Townsend A. (“Van”) Van Fleet congratulated each of the winners. The awards were based on a combination of volunteer service to the Van Fleet campaign and evaluations of essays about their experiences by a panel of independent judges. [The essay of the first-place competitor is published at right.]
Amara Edwards, a senior at T. C. Williams High School, received a $1,000 scholarship. She said of her experience in this program: “This opportunity to participate in the Van Fleet campaign for Alexandria City Council … made me actually consider being involved in political endeavors in the future.”
Bishop Ireton High School seniors Maggie Mildrew and Olivia Georgi each received $500 awards. Mildrew said, “Working for Van Fleet’s campaign has taught me how incredibly important … [civic] issues are (and therefore who we elect is equally important).” She added, “I am now actually considering a political science minor with a communications major in college as a result of this great experience.”
And Georgi said, “I thoroughly enjoyed working on this campaign…. I now have a much greater appreciation for the political process…”
Van Fleet, Reyes, and the other adult members of the Van Fleet campaign stated their appreciation for the efforts the students had devoted to the competition, and wished them well in their future endeavors.