Walter Ely Scholarship Award Presented to Two Area Students

Kody Wallace & Mykinthia Ebron

 Sixteen candidates were entered in the third annual Walter Ely Memorial Scholarship this year.  According to Kim Engburg, Executive Director of SDS, Southeastern Developmental Services, the applicatants achieved such a degree of excellence, that two recipients were selected for the annual $500 scholarship. 

SDS Board Members at Scholarship Presentation

Kody Wallace, a Wiley High School Senior, and Mykinthia Ebron, a senior at Lamar High School, were both presented with a $500 scholarship this past Monday, May 20, at the SDS office on South 4^th Street in Lamar.  Past recipients were Taylor Wilson and Andrea Schultz.  Engburg said the proceeds from the beverage cans collected over this past year were sufficient to warrant awards to the top two entries.  Up until his death, Walter Ely was a well-known fixture on Lamar Streets, collecting cans from around the city.  Two drop off sites have since been set up in Lamar for all future collections. 

Students are asked to submit a 1,000 word essay as to why they should be awarded the scholarship.  Ebron related how speaking at her mother’s funeral as a young girl, instilled a desire to become a public speaker, winning national awards while still in school and how her early life as a parentless child filled her with a desire to succeed at any enterprise, academic or athletic.  Mykinthia will attend college in Colorado Springs this fall. 

Kody Wallace about his numerous activities at Wiley High School, from his 4.683 GPA to his involvement in football, basketball, baseball and track, often times as the captain of his teams.  Wallace detailed his community involvement as well, from reading to younger students at the school, coaching elementary students in the Recreation Department’s basketball leagues, working with Pennies for Patients and as Head Boy of his Senior Class.  Wallace plans to study Sports Medicine next year at CSU-Pueblo.

By Russ Baldwin