Congratulations To Our 2010 Knight Scholarship Winners!

Each of these students will receive a college scholarship of $5,000 through the generous support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Persuasive Essay Winner		Nicole Thompson Malcolm X Shabazz High School Newark NJ
		Nicole Thompson is the valedictorian at Malcolm X Shabazz H.S Class of 2010. Nicole enjoys writing poetry, playing the alto saxophone, drawing, and creating short films. In the past years she has performed and competed nationally with her school's marching band. She has helped paint two murals, and competed in the Newark Public Schools Film Festival. In the future Nicole plans to be a filmmaker and work in Broadcast T.V. She plans to use her films and documentaries to open the world's eyes to social issues.
News Story Winner		Jimmy Moy Ronald W. Reagan Doral Senior High School Doral, FL
		Jimmy Moy was born in Caracas, Venezuela however his family is from China. Chinese in nature but culturally Venezuelan, Jimmy characterizes himself as “a mix between the best of these two worlds.” He was encouraged by his school to start getting involved with music and sports from an early age and so he did. By the age of 7, he was already playing the violin and the flute, and by the age of 9, soccer and tennis. In 2006 Jimmy’s family moved from Venezuela to Florida. In the following years, he started to take advantage of programs such as Honors and A.P. classes. He currently participates a full time dual-enrollment program between his high school, Ronald W. Reagan Doral Sr. High School and Florida International University, in which he takes college classes in the morning and high school classes in the afternoon. Jimmy is planning to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville this fall and hopefully graduate with a major in Finance.
Personal Narrative Winner		Elise Mellor Lake Placid High School Lake Placid, NY
		Elise Mellor is a senior at Lake Placid High School in NY. She run cross-country and is a cross-country skier for her high school teams. In her free time she enjoys playing classical guitar and being outdoors. When Elise was 10 years old she suffered a traumatic brain injury from a ski accident. When she came out of a coma she had to relearn how to walk, talk, tie her shoes, and do almost everything. The physical therapist who worked with her also taught her that, with perseverance, she could accomplish any task, no matter how hard. The impact that this experience had on Elise’s life has brought her to want to do the same for other people. Last summer she volunteered 20 hours a week at the local nursing home working as an assistant to the Nurses Aides and Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists, helping with both the elderly and younger patients in rehabilitation. As a result, she is more certain than ever that physical therapy is what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Next year Elise will be attending Castleton State College in Vermont and majoring in Pre-Physical Therapy. Because she was able to relate to the patients’ fear and frustration at finding themselves in a body that doesn’t work, she helped motivate them with her own story of success. Volunteering gave Elise a feeling that the accomplishments of those patients were also hers.