Toyota Awards $1.12 Million in Scholarships to 100 High School Seniors
Winners at top of class in both academics and community service
LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 12 -- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., (TMS) rewarded 100 high school seniors with $1.12 million in college scholarships for their commitment to education and community service at an awards banquet tonight.
The winners, who make up the 10th class of Toyota Community Scholars, were chosen from a pool of nearly 9,000 students nationwide nominated by their schools. To be eligible, students must be proven leaders both in the classroom and in their communities.
Based on its accomplishments, the 2006 class learned at an early age that "giving back" to the community was not an obligation, but, rather, a way of life. As one Scholar, Tyler Sanchez of Racine, Wis., put it: "My life has been enriched through my community service, and I see myself one day as a responsible business executive playing a major role in my community."
For the 2006 class, their dreams of making a difference became reality through programs ranging from raising money to help pay for 300 families' winter heating bills to recycling over 80,000 tons of household goods (furniture, appliances, clothing, toys, books) and distributing them to thousands of needy individuals to creating a diversity program that is now implemented in five high schools.
"This tenth class of Toyota Scholars, like every group before them, has accomplished so much at such a young age," said Irv Miller, TMS group vice president of corporate communications. "Their dedication to academics and community service is an inspiration to all of us. It is exciting to imagine where their lives will take them as the future leaders of America."
The scholarships are valued at $20,000 or $10,000 each, over four years, for study at a four-year college or university starting in the fall of 2006. Since the Toyota Community Scholars program began in 1997, TMS has awarded over $11 million in scholarships to 1,000 students across the U.S.
Emily Evans, a Toyota Community Scholar from Hudson, Ohio, is a prime example of the dedication to community service exhibited by this year's class. As the founder of "Children's Aid," Evans has raised over $17,000 for the Suzhou Children's Welfare Center in China. But this project is much more than just fund-raising for the orphanage. Evans has traveled twice to China to work with the children, many of whom have physical or mental disabilities and were abandoned by their parents.
Because of her dedication, numerous children have received medical procedures, including cleft lip and palate repairs, surgery to correct spina bifida, heart surgery, and skin grafts for burn victims.
In all, over 100 children living in the orphanage have been helped by Evans and "Children's Aid," which boasts over 200 supporters.
Consequently, Evans, like many of the Scholars, found community service to be the roadmap to what she wants to do in the future. "By pursuing East Asian Studies and law, I hope to be able to work with families to take the anxiety, uncertainty, and cost out of international adoption. This could be through pro-bono work, as an adoption lawyer, or by using my contacts with orphanages to match children with families."
The Toyota Community Scholars program is administered by Educational Testing Services in Princeton, N.J. The 12 national winners ($20,000 each) and 88 regional winners ($10,000 each) were selected by a panel of college and university admissions officials from across the U.S.
The scholarship winners were guests of honor tonight at an awards banquet in Louisville that was attended by education, community, business and government leaders. Bernard Kinsey, an internationally recognized expert and leader in the field of urban revitalization and economic development, was the keynote speaker.
The two-and-a-half-day program included a tour of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc., in Georgetown, which builds the Camry, Avalon and Solara vehicles. In addition, the Scholars cruised the Ohio River on the Belle of Louisville (a historic paddle wheeler), and participated in a "ride and drive" that put them behind the wheel of five Toyota vehicles: the new FJ Cruiser and Yaris, plus the family of Scion vehicles: xA, xB, and tC.
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States, marketing products and services through a network of 1,427 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers in 49 states. Established in 1957, TMS and its subsidiaries also are involved in distribution logistics, motorsports, and research and development.
NOTE:
*A list of Toyota Community Scholars is attached.
*A "snapshot" of specific community service projects is attached.
*Upon request, digital photographs of individual Scholars can be sent
electronically. Please e-mail request to: aeggers@guthriemayes.com.
2006 TOYOTA COMMUNITY SCHOLARS
CITY HIGH SCHOOL
ALABAMA
Sarah Epps Huntsville Huntsville High School
ALASKA
Tatiana Butler Kenai Nikiski Junior Senior High School
ARIZONA
Kimberly Lin Phoenix Desert Vista High School
Robert Ryan * Mesa Mountain View High School
ARKANSAS
Daniel Cayce * Thornton Bearden High School
Frederick McCollum Forrest City Forrest City High School
CALIFORNIA
David Freed Vista Vista High School
Laura Huppert * Piedmont Piedmont High School
Kaitlin Kelly-Reif Carmichael Mira Loma High School
Shirley Palomino * Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks High School
Katherine Robinson Santa Rosa Ursuline High School
Nicole St. Omer Roy Seal Beach Rosary High School
COLORADO
Karen McKinnon Boulder Boulder High School
DELAWARE
Anjali Gupta Hockessin Charter School of Wilmington
FLORIDA
Justin Chang Miami Lakes North Miami Senior High School
Maria Chicuen Miami Felix Varela Senior High School
Scott Drucker Hollywood Pine Crest School
Xavier Gonzalez Miami Miami Coral Park Senior High
School
Courtni Kerr Tavernier Coral Shores High School
Shannon Marrero * Gainesville Eastside High School
Jhanavi Pathak St. Petersburg St. Petersburg High School
GEORGIA
Ashley Buford Cordele Crisp Academy
HAWAII
Evan Alicuben Hilo Waiakea High School
Xiaomeng Hu Honolulu Moanalua High School
Mary Rose Lansangan Aiea Aiea High School
IDAHO
Abigail Fairman Hailey Wood River High School
ILLINOIS
Mi Chen Naperville Illinois Math & Science Academy
Michael Jacobson Prospect Heights John Hersey High School
Margaret McGlynn Belleville Althoff Catholic High School
Jeffery Nelson Chicago Morgan Park High School
INDIANA
Kate Goeller Terre Haute Terre Haute South Vigo High
School
IOWA
Xin Pan Ames Ames High School
Anne Wignall Newton Newton High School
KANSAS
Angel Romero Milford Junction City Senior High School
KENTUCKY
Kala Faulkner Ashland Rose Hill Christian School
Neil Gupta Prospect Saint Xavier High School
LOUISIANA
Karlnelius Duhon Westlake Lake Charles Boston High School
Aoko Jordan Monroe Wossman High School
Hannah Moore Athens Glenbrook School
MAINE
Melissa Carter Princeton Woodland High School
MARYLAND
Rebecca Parks * Reisterstown Franklin High School
MASSACHUSETTS
Nicole LeBlanc Westford Westford Academy
Tara Sullivan * Worcester Worcester Academy
Kejia Tang Williamstown Mount Greylock Regional High
School
MICHIGAN
Efrain Merchan Battle Creek Lakeview High School
Samir Shah Canton Plymouth High School
Chelsey Spriggs Detroit Renaissance High School
John Zhou Northville Detroit Country Day School
MINNESOTA
Irina Vaynerman Eagan Eastview High School
MISSISSIPPI
Caleb Page Newton Newton County Academy
Kevin Reeves Yazoo City Yazoo City High School
MISSOURI
Julia Rubin Saint Louis Parkway Central High School
Logan Skelley Joplin Joplin High School
Sky Vanderburg Moberly Moberly Senior High School
NEBRASKA
Jami Harper Grand Island Home School Clearing House
NEVADA
Christopher Lin-Brande Reno Reno High School
NEW JERSEY
Michael Bifano Marlton Cherokee High School
Chanelle Wilson Marlton Charter Tech High School
NEW MEXICO
Ashley Crooks Albuquerque Albuquerque Academy
NEW YORK
Matthew Bauman Melville Half Hollow Hills High School
East
Donnell Cunningham New York John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy
Shoshana Iliaich Rego Park Baccalaureate School for Global
Education
Sarah Joselow Ossining Ossining High School
Kathleen Quandt Schoharie Schoharie Central School
Ruben Rafaelov Briarwood Thomas Edison Voc-Tech High
School
Amy Richards Northport Kings Park High School
Danielle Shaffer Roslyn Roslyn High School
NORTH CAROLINA
Bita Emrani Greensboro Early College at Guilford
Sudha Meghan Chapel Hill East Chapel Hill High School
Qi Xi Wilmington John T. Hoggard High School
NORTH DAKOTA
Miranda Uriell Lakota Lakota High School
OHIO
Emily Evans * Hudson Western Reserve Academy
Ronald Tisdale Perrysburg Perrysburg High School
Albert Trinh * Maineville Saint Xavier High School
OKLAHOMA
Charles Graft Clinton Clinton High School
Tiffany Grant Sperry Sperry High School
Carrie Highfill Enid Chisholm High School
Ronald Pittman Okeene Okeene High School
OREGON
Irene Libov * Beaverton Southridge High School
PENNSYLVANIA
Anthony Orlando Sugarloaf Mining and Mechanical Institute
Robert Sigman Huntingdon Valley Lower Moreland High School
Helena Tzou New Stanton Hempfield Area Senior High School
SOUTH CAROLINA
Christine Richard Georgetown Georgetown High School
SOUTH DAKOTA
Chelsea Hageman Hoven Hoven High School
TENNESSEE
Lucas Hunt Lawrenceburg Loretto High School
TEXAS
William Key Morton Whiteface High School
Enhao Li Plano Plano West Senior High School
Leonard Parker * Houston G.W. Carver High School
UTAH
Stephanie Baker West Jordan Hillcrest High School
VIRGINIA
Diana Burk Alexandria West Potomac High School
Tristan Hayes Portsmouth I C Norcom High School
Jennifer MacLure Woodbridge Stonewall Jackson High School
Paul Martin Martinsville Magna Vista High School
WASHINGTON
Brett Dahlberg Bremerton Central Kitsap High School
Alicia Pumpian Issaquah Issaquah High School
WISCONSIN
Hayley Born La Crosse Aquinas High School
Lauren Levac Hartland Arrowhead High School
Katrina Richardson Shiocton Shiocton High School
Tyler Sanchez * Racine The Prairie School
WYOMING
Brittany Worton Riverton Riverton High School
* National winner - $20,000 scholarship
All others receive $10,000 scholarship
2006 TOYOTA COMMUNITY SCHOLARS
Community Service Snapshots
Following is a small sampling of community service projects performed by the 2006 class of Toyota Community Scholars (more detail can be provided upon request; student interviews can also be arranged):
- Combined a passion for music and a desire to do something positive in
the community and produced a CD with seven of his own original piano
compositions in a professional recording studio. He garnered the
support of a local healthcare company to cover all the costs of
production, and then sold the CDs to raise $7,000 for the United Way
and the American Kidney Fund. (Tyler Sanchez, Racine, Wis.)
- Uses her bilingual skills as a volunteer each week at a free medical
clinic for the uninsured, managing other student volunteers, taking
patient vital signs, performing medical interviews, and presenting
patients to doctors in the examination rooms. The child of Peruvian
immigrants, she was once a patient of free clinics. (Shirley Palomino,
Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
- As a sixth grader, teamed with her high school-aged sister and founded
PALS to help integrate their previously segregated schools. This is
accomplished through activities such as "Mix it up Day," where students
eat lunch with peers they may not have spoken to before and counselors
go to each table to have discussions about diversity. PALS initially
started at two schools, but has since grown to include five schools and
reach approximately 5,000 students. Each year, golf tournaments are
held and raise more than $70,000 to support the PALS program. (Shannon
Marrero, Gainesville, Fla.)
- Became the first youth to receive the Arkansas Recycler of the Year
award in 2005 from the Arkansas Recycling Coalition for founding
Recycle to Reuse, a program that collects unwanted furniture,
appliances, clothing, toys, books and household items for reuse by
those in need. These items are collected and distributed to the needy
at giveaway events every three months. The program has recycled more
than 80,000 tons of unwanted items. (Daniel Cayce, Thornton, Ark.)
- Started Becky's Aid Projects to provide "birthday boxes" (wrapped
shoeboxes filled with toys and a stuffed animal or doll) for children
of needy families and those in local crisis centers. Hundreds of
"birthday boxes" later, she started "Boxes for Marines," which
collected care items such as food and toiletries for a Marine unit
deployed to Iraq. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, she
collected 120 backpacks filled with clothing and school supplies for
hurricane victims in Mississippi. (Rebecca Parks, Reisterstown, Md.)
- Seeing a need at the La Casa de Esperanza orphanage in Rocky Point,
Mexico, this Scholar took matters into his own hands and started Fill a
Bag with Hope. He enlisted the help of 145 volunteers, Wal-Mart Corp.,
Bashas' Supermarkets and the Phoenix Suns to collect food and supplies
for the children at the orphanage. A total of 76 "Bags of Hope," 525
institutional-sized cans of food, 46 bags of rice, sugar, flour and
beans, two rooms of furniture and window curtains were collected and
delivered across the border to the La Casa de Esperanza. (Robert Ryan,
Mesa, Ariz.)