Wilson awarded $40,000 GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship

Special to Leader-Press 

In a celebration on June 25, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in partnership with GE recognized this year’s class of GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program award winners. 

More than 16,600 completed applications were received and reviewed from students across the United States. 

Of the 18 applicants awarded this year’s exclusive distinction, one of the awardees, Ashley Wilson is from Copperas Cove. 

Growing up in a military community, Ashley witnessed service and sacrifice that shaped her philosophy of servant leadership. She has been a school and district president for DECA, class officer, and student council leader. In addition to serving as captain of her gymnastics team, Ashley also has worked as a gymnastics coach. 

She joined forces with her older sister – also a GE-Reagan Foundation Scholar – to support a program that provided food to underserved students. Ashley expanded these efforts to monthly food drives and a food backpack program for a local elementary school. 

She believes that giving back starts a chain reaction, and looks forward to continuing her efforts to support children and those in need in college and beyond. Ashley will attend Baylor University in the fall to study data analytics.

The eighteen students will receive $10,000 per year for up to four years towards college tuition and room and board. To date, the scholarship program, now in its ninth year, has awarded $7 million to 175 students.

“This year’s applicants and scholarship recipients are a remarkable group of young adults,” said John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. “We are proud to award college scholarships in President Reagan’s name to these proactive, informed and engaged citizens, who will only continue to make a difference in their communities and our nation in the years to come.”

“We congratulate this year’s recipients of the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship,” said Tony Denhart, University Relations Director for GE. “As they embark on their journeys of higher education, I look forward to their accomplishments and the lasting impact that they’ll bring to their communities and the world.”

The GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program was recently cited by U.S. News and World Report as one of four “huge scholarships worth $10,000 or more” that students should seriously consider. The scholarship selection committee evaluated the applicants on four values personified by President Reagan: Leadership, drive, integrity, and citizenship.

The 2019 GE Reagan Foundation Scholarship recipients are:

• Aisho Salim Ali, from Columbus, Ohio; attending The Ohio State University 

• Jessica Maria Bradley, from Hoover, Alabama; attending Georgia Institute of Technology • Nelson Chow, from Lynbrook, New York; attending Princeton University 

• Normandie Alise Cormier, from Lafayette, Louisiana; attending Xavier University of Louisiana 

• Lauren Devletian, from Exton, Pennsylvania; attending Dartmouth College 

• Nefertari Elshiekh, from East Elmhurst, New York; attending University of Central Florida • Tabitha Lee Escalante, from Pemberville, Ohio; attending Harvard University 

• Jessi Morgan Figard, from Davidson, North Carolina; attending Carnegie Mellon University 

• Peyton A. Gomez, from Lakewood, Washington; attending University of Washington 

• Cade Jenlink, from Jet, Oklahoma; attending Oklahoma State University 

• Grace Ra Kim, from Germantown, Maryland; attending Harvard University 

• Emma Lowden, from Winterset, Iowa; attending Central College 

• Anna Mathis, from Harrison, Arkansas; attending University of Arkansas 

• Mofeed Nagib, from Towson, Maryland; attending Yale University 

• Chad Niemeier, from Beatrice, Nebraska; attending University of Nebraska–Lincoln 

• Gentry Shapland, from Dighton, Kansas; attending Kansas State University 

• Chibuike Uwakwe, from Wilson, North Carolina; attending Harvard University 

• Ashley Wilson, from Copperas Cove, Texas; attending Baylor University

Information about the 2020 GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program will be available online in the fall.