Peabody graduates rack up $2.8M in scholarship offers
By Crystal Burns
Peabody High School administrators presented 101 graduates with diplomas Friday night, celebrating a class that received $2.8M in scholarship offers.
Shane Jacobs, Peabody assistant principal, said the estimated totaled is $2,890,978. Several students received local scholarships, including the $500 A.F. Bridges Memorial Scholarship – Courtlen Wade; $500 Andy Stott Memorial Scholarship – Diamon Lennon, Skylar Patterson and Jake Smith; $750 Andy Yarbrough Memorial Scholarship – Kendall Powell and Maddie Vernon; $500 Anne B. Love Memorial Scholarship – Asia Brown; $750 Ardeus Buck Wade Jr. Memorial Scholarship – Layla Duncan; $250 Bettye Brown Green Memorial Scholarship – Macy Anglin; $500 Bill Jones Jr. Memorial Scholarship – Abigail Allen; $1,000 Bobby Lee Ford Scholarship – Andrea Banks; $1,200 Central High School Alumni & Associates of Alamo Scholarship – Asia Brown and Stokely Ellison; $500 Darrell Dorsett Memorial Scholarship – Chandler Richardson; $750 Dr. E.C. Barker Memorial Scholarship – Bryn Hensley; $500 Dr. Larry Williams Memorial Scholarship – Kamryn Edmiston; $500 E.C. Crafton Memorial Scholarship – Abigail Allen; $500 Eddie’s Pharmacy Scholarship – Abigail Allen; $500 First Presbyterian Church Trenton Scholarship – Kamryn Edmiston and Bryn Hensley; $750 Fred Culp Honorary Scholarship – Scarlett Bell; $750 Gibson County Farm Bureau Scholarship – Grayson Baugus; $250 Gibson County JumpStart Scholarship – Abigail Allen, Damian Anderson, Macy Anglin, Annie Bartholomew, Asia Brown, Stokely Ellison, MyKell Harvey, Diamon Lennon, Chloe Lewis, Kendall Powell, Chloe Thompson and Makayla Walters; $500 Jennings Teach for America Scholarship – Makayla Walters; $1,000 Jessica Kyle Joyce Memorial Scholarship – Kendall Powell; $500 Johnnie Mai Chapman Memorial Scholarship – La’Tavia Milan; $500 Jon Coffman Memorial Scholarship – Kamryn Edmiston and Maddie Vernon; $200 Marine Bowers Recognition Award – Issiah Jackson; $500 Michael Harper Memorial Scholarship – Ty Abbott; $100 Miss Trenton Pageant Scholarship – Carleigh Wade; $500 Paul Dennison Memorial Scholarship – Andrea Banks; $500 Peabody Alumni Association General Fund Scholarship – Ethan Girard; $500 Peabody High School Class of 1963 – Makynzie Thompson; $750 Peabody Class of 1967 Scholarship – Megan Cloyd and Heather Combs; $1,800 Quaker Oats Scholarship – Abigail Allen; $500 Ricky Rodell Johnson Memorial Scholarship – Courtlen Wade; $500 Tennie Word and Family Scholarship –Kyliyah Nesbitt; $400 The Farmers & Merchants Bank Scholarship – Bryn Hensley; $100 Trenton Elks Lodge Bob Patterson Memorial Scholarship – Kamryn Edmiston; $500 Trenton Elks Lodge Crappie Scholarship – Kamryn Edmiston; $500 Trenton Elks Lodge Past Exalted Ruler Scholarship – Bryn Hensley; $500 Trenton Healthcare Foundation Scholarship – Courtlen Wade; $1,000 Trenton Rotary Club Scholarship – Macy Anglin; and $750 Walter Kilzer Memorial Scholarship – Osiris Wilson.
Peabody Scholars
Abigail Allen, Macy Anglin, Heather Combs, Layla Duncan, Bryn Hensley, Kendall Powell, Jacob Smith, Maddie Vernon and Makayla Walters were recognized as Peabody Scholars. The distinguished award is presented to students who achieved a combination of an outstanding grade point average and an exception ACT score. The school uses a formula that multiples the student’s ACT composite score by 27.777 and GPA by 250. Those numbers are added, and students with more than 1,689 points receive Peabody Scholar status.
Two Peabody Scholars were selected to address the class.
Makayla Walters chose “Invent Yourself” as her topic, saying graduates are now able to create their own standards.
“We have the rest of our lives to figure out how we want to invent ourselves,” she said.
Kendall Powell focused on “Positive Changes,” reminding her classmates that attitude and outlook determine how well people succeed.
“This is the biggest change of our lives so far,” she said. “Look at it as an opportunity to grow.”
Stokeley Ellison, senior class president and a summa cum laude graduate, gave the welcome, thanking Peabody teachers and administrators for pushing students to be better students and better people. She said throughout their four years in high school, the Class of 2019 developed bonds that feel more like family than friendships.
“The bonds we made with our fellow classmates are strong,” she said. “This ending is bittersweet.”
Other distinctions
TN Honor Graduates – Ty Abbott, Abigail Allen, Macy Anglin, Heather Combs, Layla Duncan, Stokeley Ellison, Bryn Hensley, Kendall Powell, Jake Smith, Maddie Vernon, Carleigh Wade and Makayla Walters were recognized as TN Honor graduates for scoring at or above all four benchmarks on the ACT.
State distinction – Ty Abbott, Jasper Albea, Abigail Allen, Damian Anderson, Macy Anglin, Cecelia Balentine, Juan Barcenas, Manuel Barcenas, Annie Bartholomew, Grayson Baugus, Scarlett Bell, Heather Combs, Christian Comer, Wesley Comer, Layla Duncan, Bryce Ellison, Stokeley Ellison, Dylan Ferrell, Gary Garrett, Ethan Girard, Bryn Hensley, Joycelyn Johnson, Kyle Oglesby, Kendall Powell, Jake Smith, Chloe Thompson, Makynzie Thompson, Maddie Vernon, Makayla Walters, Hannah Wilkinson and Osiris Wilson graduated with state distinction. To achieve the designation, students must attain a cumulative B average or above and complete at least one of nine recognitions established by the Tennessee Board of Education.
District distinction – Jasper Albea, Abigail Allen, Damian Anderson, Cecelia Balentin, Juan Barcenas, Manuel Barcenas, Christian Comer, Wesley Comer, Bryce Ellison, Dylan Ferrell, Gary Garrett, Joycelyn Johnson, Kyle Oglesby, Chloe Thompson, Maddie Vernon and Osiris Wilson graduated with district distinction by attaining a cumulative B average and earning a national or state recognized industry certification.
Community service – Abigail Allen, Macy Anglin, Scarlett Bell, Bryn Hensley and Maddie Vernon were recognized for completing a minimum of 80 hours of community service during their high school careers. Allen topped the list with 206 hours.
Tri-Store Scholars – Jasper Albea, Abigail Allen, Cecelia Balentine, Juan Barcenas, Manuel Barcenas, Wesley Comer, Bryce Ellison, Dylan Ferrell, Gary Garrett, Cooper Mathieu, Kyle Oglesby, Desmond Tyler, Maddie Vernon and Osiris Wilson received recognition as Tri-Star Scholars for earning a minimum of a 19 on the ACT and a capstone industry certification.
Tennessee Ready Graduates – Peabody’s Tennessee Ready Graduates are Ty Abbott, Jasper Albea, Abigail Allen, Macy Anglin, Cecelia Balentine, Andrea Banks, Juan Barcenas, Manuel Barcenas, Annie Bartholomew, Grayson Baugus, Scarlett Bell, Asia Brown, Megan Cloyd, Heather Combs, Christian Comer, Wesley Comer, John Paul Cross, Parker Denton, Layla Duncan, Bryce Ellison, Stokeley Ellison, Dylan Ferrell, Brennan Forbes, Gary Garrett, Ethan Girard, My’Kell Harvey, Bryn Hensley, Trenton Hutcheson, Joycelyn Johnson, Cooper Mathieu, Autumn Miller, Kyle Oglesby, Skylar Patterson, Kendall Powell, Daniel Quaranto, Darby Smith, Jake Smith, Chloe Thompson, Makynzie Thompson, Zach Tilley, Desmond Tyler, Maddie Vernon, Brock Wade, Carleigh Wade, Courtlen Wade, Makayla Walters, Hannah Wilkinson and Indiah Williams. The graduates achieved the distinction by meeting success milestones that increase their probability of seamless enrolling in post-secondary education and securing high-quality employment.
Work Ethic Certificate – Ty Abbott, Abigail Allen, Damian Anderson, Macy Anglin, Cecelia Balentine, Andrea Banks, Jesus Barcenas, Juan Barcenas, Scarlett Bell, Wesley Comer, Layla Duncan, Bryce Ellison, Ethan Girard, Bryn Hensley, Joycelyn Johnson, Diamon Lennon, Chloe Thompson, Maddie Vernon, Austin Weaver and Hannah Wilkinson received the Work Ethic Certificate.
HOPE Scholarship
The Tennessee State Lottery funds the HOPE Scholarship and the Wilder-Naifeh Technical Grant. To receive the HOPE Scholarship, students must earn a 21 or higher on the ACT and have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students receive up to $3,500 their first two years and $4,500 in their last two years for a total of up to $16,000. Students receiving the Wilder Naifeh Technical Grant receive $2,000.
Ty Abbott, Jasper Albea, Abigail Allen, Damian Anderson, Macy Anglin, Cecelia Balentine, Andrea Banks, Jesus Barcenas, Juan Barcenas, Manuel Barcenas, Annie Bartholomew, Dylan Barton, Grayson Baugus, Scarlett Bell, Asia Brown, Megan Cloyd, Heather Combs, Christian Comer, Wesley Comer, John Paul Cross, Layla Duncan, Kamryn Edmiston, Bryce Ellison, Stokeley Ellison, JC Eubanks, Dylan Ferrell, Brennan Forbes, Braxton Fuller, Gary Garrett, Ethan Girard, Gianna Giustino, Ja’Darius Harris, Bryn Hensley, Kiera Hill, Felipe Huerta, Trent Hutcheson, Joycelyn Johnson, Diamon Johnson, Chloe Lewis, Cooper Mathieu, La’Tavia Milan, Autumn Miller, Kyliyah Nesbitt, Kyle Oglesby, Josh Parks, Qua Parks, Skylar Patterson, Kendall Powell, Chandler Richardson, Darby Smith, Jake Smith, Chloe Thompson, Makynzie Thompson, Zach Tilley, Desmond Tyler, Maddie Vernon, Brock Wade, Carleigh Wade, Courtlen Wade, Makayla Walters, Olivia Ware, Austin Weaver, Mary Grace Whittemore, Hannah Wilkinson, Indiah Williams and Osiris Wilson qualified for the awards.
Merit Scholarship – Abigail Allen, Bryn Hensley, Jake Smith and Maddie Vernon qualified for the HOPE General Assembly Merit Scholarship, which awards an additional $1,500 a year for four years for a total of $6,000 per student. The students graduated with a minimum 3.75 GPA and a minimum 29 on the ACT.
TN Promise – Ninety-six of Peabody’s 101 graduates are eligible for the TN Promise, a last-dollar scholarship that pays for students to attend any state community college or technical school tuition-free.
