Heaston Scholarship Program Recipients

Sydney Bailey

The Jack & Betty Heaston Memorial Scholarship 

- $6,000 each year for four years

Sydney is a recent graduate of Milton Area High School in Milton, Pennsylvania with a strong passion for working with children and supporting their growth and development. During high school, she completed the Early Child Development program, where she gained hands-on knowledge of child development, classroom activities, and age-appropriate learning techniques. In addition to her coursework, Sydney volunteered at a local elementary school, assisting teachers and helping create a positive learning environment for young students. Outside of school, she regularly babysat for families in her community, building valuable experience in providing safe, responsible, and engaging care for children of various ages. Sydney also worked at the Milton YMCA, where she strengthened her customer service, communication, teamwork, and leadership skills while working with children, families, and members of the community. These experiences have helped her become dependable, compassionate, and organized, while reinforcing my commitment to a career working with children.

Abigail Fiske

The Betty Y. Heaston Memorial Scholarship

- $3,000 each year for four years

Abigail from Bryceville, Florida, is thankful for the honor of being a recipient of the Heaston Scholarship Program. This scholarship will assist her with overall costs needed at Jacksonville University for general education and nursing classes. Abigail has personally dedicated over 1,300 volunteer hours among various community opportunities and plan to continue to serve during and beyond college. Abigail recently completed her senior year at West Nassau High School. This year she attended classes to be a Certified Nursing Assistant and just received her license in April. Abigail will also be completing her second year with the VyStar Student Internship Program which has been an amazing opportunity. Growing up in a military family has shown her diversity, dedication and great work ethic. Abigail has been employed since the age of 14 between childcare, animal care, food service boat and with VyStar Credit Union. While in high school and prior she has joined multiple clubs, all of which are dedicated to community service and leadership. Abigail's favorite volunteer work was with Great Shape 1,000 Smiles Dental Mission Trip.

Danica Laubach

The Jack Heaston Memorial Scholarship

- $3,000 each year for four years

Danica is a recent graduate of Berwick Area High School in Berwick Pennsylvania. Throughout high school, she was a distinguished honor student and she worked hard to balance academics with a wide variety of extracurricular clubs and sports. Danica served as President of both Interact and Spirit Club, Vice President of Student Council, and Team Captain of her school’s new sport Unified Bocce. As a member of the National Honor Society and Interact (which is partnered with her town's Rotary), she has been involved in countless community service activities. Her experience dealing with the unexpected passing of her father at a young age has shaped her compassion and purpose in profound ways. With a deep passion for helping and comforting others, Danica will be attending Misericordia University in the fall, majoring in Nursing. Her ultimate goal is to become a CRNA. Danica is committed to making a difference in others' lives by offering the care and support she wishes she had been able to provide her dad.

Payton Oakley

The Jack Heaston Memorial Scholarship

- $1,000 each year for four years

Payton is a recent graduate of Liberty High School in Eldersburg, Maryland. She served as class president and graduated in the top 5% of her class. While in high school, Payton also excelled in both music and sports. She played the alto saxophone in her school’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Full Orchestra. Throughout her four years playing first doubles on the Varsity Tennis Team, she achieved one county championship, two regional championships, two team state championships, and placed second as an individual state championship player. Inspired by her past with leukemia, Payton is dedicated to giving back to the cancer community. She has spoken before members of Congress to advocate for the Give Kids a Chance Act, until it was passed in 2026. Additionally, she serves as an ambassador for The Children’s Cancer Foundation and Believe in Tomorrow, in which she has supported Team Payton’s fundraiser. Payton is attending Lafayette College in the Fall, where she plans to earn a mechanical engineering degree. She plans to use her future degree to improve medical machinery for pediatrics.

McKenzie McClure

The Jack Heaston Memorial Scholarship

- $1,000 each year for four years

McKenzie is a graduate of Bucklin High School in Bucklin, Kansas. McKenzie was an honor roll student throughout her high school career keeping a 4.0 GPA, while also being involved in sports such as volleyball, basketball, softball, and cheerleading, where she was a captain. She was also the president of the DECA club, secretary and treasurer of her class, as well as secretary of their SADD organization. She was also able to complete many community service activities while being involved in National Honor Society, including bingo for veterans, highway cleanup, red ribbon week organizer, and many more. Choosing a career was easy for her through her past childhood experiences of being in the hospital. She has a profound sense of empathy and helping others and plans to major in biology in order to continue her career in pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Kansas. McKenzie is excited to start her new journey, meet new people, and gain experience in the field.

Russell Baker

The Jack Heaston Memorial Scholarship

- $1,000 each year for four years

Russell is a graduate of Princess Anne High School’s International Baccalaureate Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In addition to being a 2 sport Varsity Athlete - earning All Region recognition for both golf and baseball, he graduated with a 4.7 GPA and is entering college with 41 college credits. His habits of excellence, hard work, and persistence in the face of adversity were instilled in him from a young age by his parents who despite both having cancer twice each, gave him a strong example of grit, work ethic and resilience; teaching him that excellence is a result of internal motivation, commitment to self, and a desire to become the best version of yourself. He is proficient on four instruments (Trumpet, Acoustic Guitar, Flugelhorn, French Horn) and has been a member of multiple different honor bands and ensembles throughout school. Further, he has dedicated over 300+ hours towards his community service at Old Donation Brickell Academy Elementary School Leadership Workshop (a day-long program where high school students teach leadership skills to elementary students through games, activities, and skits) serving as the Coordinator for two years. As well, he has served as a multi-year intern for Congresswoman Jen Kiggans of Virginia’s Second Congressional District, organizing grassroots operations and working alongside GA-10 Congressman Mike Collins, former Virgina Governor Glenn Youngkin, and other members of local and state government on public policy, specifically regarding VA-02 and the company Omega Protein who has faced intense scrutiny for overharvesting menhaden which has harmed the ecosystem and depleted food sources for several species in the Chesapeake Bay. His future plans include attending the University of Alabama where he will be majoring in finance and minoring in Spanish, with a goal of then attending law school. His ultimate dream is to become a professional sports agent representing the NFL and MLB. Russell feels fortunate to have been chosen for the Heaston Scholarship Program, and grateful for the funds to help him pursue his college dreams. 

Riley Barwidi

The Jack & Betty Heaston Memorial Scholarship - $6,000 each year for four years

Riley is a graduate of Nordonia High School in Macedonia, Ohio. In addition to being a four-year letter winner in volleyball and track, class vice president, and accumulating over 250 service hours, her GPA never fell below a 4.0. Growing up Riley struggled with reading and spelling and when she moved schools in 2nd grade it was apparent that she was way behind her peers. Through dedication and hard work, she not only caught up with her peers, she set a goal to finish in the top 10% of her graduating class. This spring she accomplished that goal and was invited to the Superintendent's awards dinner to be recognized for her hard work. Her work ethic carries over to all areas of her academics and athletics. She enjoys helping her peers with disabilities and is excited to begin her journey to become a Special Education teacher as she enters The Ohio State University in the fall of 2025.

Rishi Dhanasekaran

The Betty Y. Heaston Memorial Scholarship - $3,000 each year for four years

Rishi, a recent graduate of Souderton Area High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and a first-generation American with a strong commitment to leadership, service, and lifelong learning. During high school, he was a Distinguished Honor Roll student and worked hard to balance academics with a variety of extracurricular activities. Rishi served as captain of the varsity tennis team, co-president of the Academic Challenge Team, and a Pathway Ambassador. As a member of the National Honor Society, Rishi has been involved in several community service activities - volunteering at food drives, tutoring students, helping organize youth sports camps and cultural events, and raising funds for ALS and childhood cancer foundations. His experience as a caregiver for his terminally ill mother has shaped his sense of empathy and purpose in profound ways. With a deep passion for STEM, Rishi will be pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech this fall, with plans to attend medical school and specialize in neurodegenerative diseases. Rishi is excited to continue growing through learning and service, using science and innovation to improve lives.

Charles Gagne

The Jack Heaston Memorial Scholarship - $3,000 each year for four years

Charles is a recent graduate of Wakefield Memorial High School in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Charles will be attending Boston College in the fall of 2025. At Boston College, he plans to study finance in the Carroll School of Management, and he will be in a philosophy/theology program that requires 12 hours of community service per week. Charles has worked on numerous charitable projects since elementary school and has learned so much from these undertakings, he is happy to be able to carry on this type of service in college. Another one of his passions is sports. Over the years, he has played soccer, basketball, baseball, flag football and tennis and was a three-sport athlete throughout high school, serving as his soccer team's captain last fall. Charles has worked hard to bring his teams together, hosting and organizing many gatherings, such as pasta parties and backyard wiffle ball games. He has recently helped to start a summer basketball league for high school graduates so that they can stay connected to the sport, and he just joined a men's summer baseball league. Charles plans to continue sports and will play intramural sports and possibly club soccer at Boston College. He also enjoys hosting and organizing activities such as card games, trips to the beach, cooking competitions, backyard fires, and more. Since age six, Charles has been diagnosed with a tic disorder which at times has been quite painful and uncomfortable, but he has been fortunate to have the support of a loving family and community that has helped him reach his potential. Charles is extremely honored to have been chosen for the UCT Charities Heaston Scholarship and is grateful for the funds that will help with his college tuition. 

Luke Robertson

The Jack & Betty Heaston Memorial Scholarship - $6,000 each year for four years

Luke is a graduate of Riverton Parke High School in Montezuma, IN where he was class valedictorian and plans to attend Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute. He is a gifted young man who not only excelled academically, but athletically as well. Luke has many ties to local clubs in his hometown of Rockville, IN. He has a lifelong interest in space and space exploration with plans to major in aerospace or mechanical engineering at Rose-Hulman.

Brilee Mitchell

The Betty Y. Heaston Memorial Scholarship - $3,000 each year for four years

Brilee is a graduate of Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, KY. During her high school career, Brilee never received a grade below an A, even when enrolled in multiple advanced placement classes. She and family has dealt with serious illness of a family member, but Brilee was determined to help her family financially during trying times to pay medical bills. Through all this, Brilee was determined to maintain her stellar straight A academic standing. She has been active in many different charities in her hometown of Shepherdsville, KY. Brilee will be attending the University of Louisville and plans to major in engineering.

Aimy Tran

The Jack Heaston Memorial Scholarship - $3,000 each year for four years

Aimy is a graduate of Parkrose High School in Portland, OR. She is a first generation Asian-American who will be the first in her family to attend college. Upon reaching the United States, Aimy’s parents separated and moved to different states and left her to be raised by her grandmother and aunt. She was left with few resources to succeed, but due to her strong work ethic that she realized from her birth parents, she worked hard realize her dream of attending college. Aimy now helps her fellow students with little resources by running the Parkrose Food Pantry and Clothing Closet. She graduated with a 4.304 GPA with a schedule heavy in advanced placement courses. She has plans to attend Oregon State University and major in biohealth sciences.