Community Relations
For Immediate Release
April 24, 2012
Contact:
Cass Cannon
Community Relations Specialist
Charlottesville City Schools
434-245-2962
Cass Cannon@ccs.k12.va.us
Media Release
CHS Senior Honored Locally and Nationally
The Emily Couric Leadership Forum announced that Jessie Press-Williams, a senior at Charlottesville High School, has won the twelfth annual Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship. Jessie will receive a $30,000 scholarship, the highest amount ever given by the ECLF. Jessie and her fellow nominees were recognized at the ECLF’s annual luncheon on April 24, 2012 at the Omni Hotel.
Jessie has also been selected as one of approximately 550 semifinalists in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Scholars competition. She is among 17 Virginia students selected for this honor, based on scholastic achievement.
The Emily Couric Leadership scholarships are awarded annually to recognize and encourage young women in leadership roles. Each public or private high school in Charlottesville and Albemarle may nominate one senior girl who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in her school and community. Each nominee receives a $4,000 scholarship. These scholarships will be available to be used within eighteen (18) months after high school graduation and are intended to be used to offset some of the costs of the recipient’s college education or another approved leadership endeavor. A committee of community leaders makes the selection. This year the ECLF is awarding a record total of $71,000, including a rarely given discretionary scholarship of an additional $5,000 to Monticello High School’s Cherise Morris.
Jessie demonstrated a great potential for future leadership and influence or impact on society. The following criteria were important in the selection: sense of initiative, problem-solving ability, creativity, motivational effectiveness, communication skills, listening capacity, team building style, proven follow-through performance, and effective interpersonal skills.
For more information about the scholarships, visit the Emily Couric Leadership Forum and the U.S. Presidential Scholar web sites.
Jessie and her mom at the ECLF luncheon.
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