Gifts at Work

Three Triad Students Named as Trinity Scholarship Recipients

Three Triad-area students are this year's winners of Trinity Scholarships, undergraduate merit awards at Duke University.

The Trinity Scholarships, valued at more than $130,000, cover the full cost of attending Duke for four years, including tuition, room, board and stipends for travel or study abroad programs. They were established by Duke alumni to honor Duke's origins as Trinity College in Randolph County and are awarded to students in the Carolinas.

There are 11 different Trinity Scholarships, each funded by different donors. New scholars are named as current scholars graduate.

Announced at Wednesday's 20th annual Trinity Scholarship recognition evening at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Greensboro, this year's winners are:

• Andrew Keaton, of High Point Central High School, is the new Plato and Betty Wilson Scholar. Keaton, a student leader and varsity athlete, is co-editor of his school newspaper and has written a column for the High Point Enterprise. He plans to study political science and economics at Duke.
• Joshua Sommer, of Western Guilford High School in Greensboro, is the new Four County Pooled Fund Trinity Scholar. The president of the National Honor Society, he is also active with the Greensboro Youth Council and introduced a national nonpartisan youth-led voter turnout campaign to Guilford County. Sommer plans to study mechanical engineering, environmental engineering or public policy at Duke.
• Melanie Wright, the new John C. and Marsha B. Slane Trinity Scholar, attends Westchester Academy in High Point, where she is co-captain of the cross-country team and co-president of the French Club. A Red Cross volunteer, she is also founder and co-editor of "Youth Review," an online forum for teens. Wright will study the social sciences at Duke.

Also honored at Wednesday's dinner was Rachel Hoffer of High Point, the outgoing Herman Bernard Trinity Scholar, who will graduate from Duke on May 15 with degrees in philosophy and psychology and a minor in religion. She plans to attend law school.

March 2 , 2005