DC Youth Receive Scholarship Awards from Interior's Blacks In Government Chapter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In partnership with the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the Department of the Interior's Blacks In Government (BIG) Chapter celebrated the academic achievements of ten high school students from the National Capital region today during its 5th annual awards ceremony. Robert Stanton, Senior Advisor to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and Flip Hagood, SCA Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, led the ceremony in which the students each received a Dr. Dorothy I. Height Scholarship from BIG and work opportunities from SCA.

“The ten students receiving scholarships today are the future leaders of our country,” said Robert Stanton. “They have demonstrated great academic and extracurricular achievement and this scholarship will enable them to continue to aim high in their educational development and careers.”

Established in 2006, Interior's BIG Chapter Scholarship Awards Program honors the academic achievements of young leaders in the Washington, D.C. area to help them pursue their goals of higher learning, and provide work opportunities in the field of conservation. The scholarship award is named in honor of the accomplishments and leadership exemplified by the late Dr. Dorothy I. Height, former President of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.

“The Student Conservation Association is proud to partner with the Blacks In Government Department of the Interior Chapter to form a uniquely strategic collaboration that will provide work opportunities for the 2010 Dorothy I. Height Scholarship Recipients,” said Flip Hagood, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives from the Student Conservation Association. “SCA's primary goal is to build the next generation of conservation leaders. This collaboration will facilitate diversity in the field of conservation by ensuring that all young people are afforded an opportunity to participate in the SCA Conservation Internship Program.”

Each year, the scholarship committee from Interior's BIG Chapter Scholarship Program reviews dozens of applications from graduating high school students before selecting ten finalists. As part of the process, prospective scholarship recipients submit and application and essay, and interview with the scholarship committee.

2010 Dr. Dorothy I. Height Scholarship Award Recipients:

Adejire Bademosi - Mount Hebron H.S., Ellicott City, MD
Georgette Ndamukong - Glen Burnie H.S., Glen Burnie, MD
Trevor Allen - Gaithersburg H.S., Gaithersburg, MD
Nitesh Donti - Northwest H.S., Germantown, MD
Nicole Heard - Gwynn Park H.S., Brandywine, MD
Landry Horimbere - Springbrook, H.S., Silver Spring, MD
Nathaniel Lee-Deison - Mariott Ridge H.S., Mariottsville, MD
Alexis Lewis - Herndon H.S., Herndon, VA
Daphney Romulus - Northwestern H.S., Hyattsville, MD
Alana Rule - Northwest H.S., Germantown, MD