NSWCD, Keep Newberry County Beautiful, award scholarships

NEWBERRY — The Newberry Soil and Water Conservation District and Keep Newberry County Beautiful recently announced the winners of the 2024 Scholarships Programs.

Newberry Soil & Water Conservation District awarded two $1,000 scholarships to a student from or attending a secondary school in Newberry County pursuing a degree related to agriculture, wildlife biology, forestry, Ag education, environmental natural resources field, or any related field and who have achieved positive academic records.

Winning applications included an essay on “Describe a change you would make in the world, tell us about how you would plan to make the change, and what obstacles you might encounter along the way?”

Both winners previously applied for and won the NSWCD scholarships.

William Folk, of Prosperity, is a third-year student attending Clemson University enrolled in Forestry Resource Management with a minor in Agribusiness. Folk’s love of wildlife and forest land management shines through in his essay.

Emma Wicker, of Little Mountain, attends Newberry College as a third-year Honors College student with a 4.0 grade point average. Wicker has her sights set on Biology and Environmental Studies. She hopes to use this degree to teach future generations.

Keep Newberry County Beautiful also awarded two $1,000 scholarships to a graduating senior or current college students from or attending secondary school in Newberry County. Their essay question “Tell us three things that are important to you. How did you arrive at this list? Will these things be important to you in ten years? Why?”

Again, Wicker saw the opportunity and applied for both scholarships. Wicker continues to coach softball for her alma mater Mid Carolina High School. She also works part-time at Lake Murray Drug.

Gracie Baker, a student attending Newberry Academy is enrolled at University of South Carolina studying Pharmaceutical Science with plans to return to Newberry as a Pharmacist so she can help her hometown. Baker is active in Beta Club, and Civitan Club, and participates in the Adopt a Highway program.