Four Graduates Receive Beverly Clyburn Scholarships

Caley Bright, Christine Green, Breanna Kennedy and Kaylee Morris are the Beverly Clyburn Scholarship winners for 2020.

The Aiken County Democratic Women’s Club honored the recipients during a Virtual Tea Celebration on June 15.

Prior to that event, the organization mailed scholarship acceptance packets to the winners. Each packet included an award certificate and a special gift.

The guest speaker during the Virtual Tea Celebration was Women United Chair Stephanie Franklin. The title of her talk was “Change Your Direction by Choice.”

She told the scholarship winners to “go do great things and crack that glass ceiling.”

In addition, there was a congratulatory “tea toast,” and the scholarship recipients talked about their goals and aspirations for the future.

Bright, a graduate of South Aiken High School, plans to study criminology and criminal justice while on a pre-law track at the University of South Carolina.

Green, a graduate of Aiken High School, will study dental hygiene at Midlands Technical College.

Kennedy, a graduate of Silver Bluff High School, plans to major in biology, with an emphasis on pre-veterinary sciences, at the University of South Carolina.

Morris, a graduate of North Augusta High School, will study business management at Clemson University.

Each received a $500 scholarship.

“We congratulate them and look forward to their success as a new generation of women in leadership roles,” said Vertell Simmons Tutt, president of the Aiken County Democratic Women’s Club.

Established in 2013, the Beverly Clyburn Scholarship is awarded annually to four high school seniors based on their accomplishments in the areas of academics, leadership, extracurricular activities and community service.

Beverly Clyburn, for whom the scholarship is named, was an educator and counselor for more than 40 years while working in the school systems of Barnwell and Aiken counties prior to her retirement. She also was a member of Aiken City Council for more than 20 years.

The Virtual Tea Celebration was held instead of a traditional ceremony because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.