Columbia Star

1963        Celebrating 60 Years      2023

Hopkins High School Alumni Foundation presents scholarships to high school graduates



(L-r) Kenneth L. Corbin, Alumni Foundation president; Heyward Bannister, accepting for his nephew Jacob Bannister, graduate of White Knoll High School; Danielle Morgan, Dreher High School graduate; Kyrell Michael, Dreher High School graduate; Macy Lewis, North Augusta High School graduate; Raniya Garrick, Tucker High School graduate, Tucker, Ga.; mother of Myles Thomas, accepting for her son, graduate of Blythewood High School; and sister of Timothy Outing II, accepting for her brother, graduate of A.C. Flora High School. Photo by Anita Baker

(L-r) Kenneth L. Corbin, Alumni Foundation president; Heyward Bannister, accepting for his nephew Jacob Bannister, graduate of White Knoll High School; Danielle Morgan, Dreher High School graduate; Kyrell Michael, Dreher High School graduate; Macy Lewis, North Augusta High School graduate; Raniya Garrick, Tucker High School graduate, Tucker, Ga.; mother of Myles Thomas, accepting for her son, graduate of Blythewood High School; and sister of Timothy Outing II, accepting for her brother, graduate of A.C. Flora High School. Photo by Anita Baker

The Hopkins High School Alumni Foundation hosted its 25th Anniversary banquet Saturday, September 21 at St. John Holistic Wellness Center in Hopkins.

Every year, the foundation presents scholarships in the amounts of $500, $1,000, and $1,500 to deserving high school students who are descendants or family members of former Hopkins High School students. Speakers for the event included three former scholarship recipients who spoke about preparing for and succeeding in college.

Hopkins was established in 1954 as the first high school in the area formed from several two room and four-room schools. It existed in the era of segregation and was the school in the Lower Richland area for African-American students. When desegregation began in the early 1970s, students were gradually transferred to Lower Richland High School where the white students were being educated. At the conclusion of this process, Hopkins High School began the transformation into a junior high and later into a middle school.

A marker has been placed on the site that serves as a remembrance to Hopkins High School. Listed on the marker are the three principals of the school, Ulysses E. Barber (1954-1959), Joe E. Brown (1950-1964 and 1966-1971), and Willie Gallishaw (1964-1965).

The Hopkins High School Alumni Foundation began in 1994 with the mission to reunite former students, teachers, and staff of the school and to begin a scholarship program for their family members. The foundation hosts the annual scholarship banquet and engages in fundraising activities throughout the year.

To receive the Hopkins High School Alumni Foundation Scholarship, students are asked to write an essay of no more than 1,000 words on the topic: “The Importance of Higher Education for Meeting Global Challenges.” Students must submit one letter of recommendation from their principal, guidance counselor, or teacher and be accepted into an institution of higher learning.

The foundation has awarded over $200,000 in scholarshipssinceitsfounding.

The 2019 scholarship recipients are Timothy Bryan Outting II (A.C. Flora High School), Myles Irving Thomas (Blythewood High School), Raniya Garrick ( Tucker High School), Macy Renee Lewis (North Augusta High School), Kyrell Michael (Dreher High School), Zhariah Walker (Lower Richland High School), Danielle Christine Morgan (Dreher High School), and Jacob Bannister ( White Knoll High School). Scholarship recipients are enrolled in institutions of higher learning including Claflin University, Coastal Carolina University, Georgia Gwinett College, University of South Carolina Aiken, University of South Carolina Columbia, and the College of Charleston.

Alumni Foundation president Kenneth L. Corbin presented the scholarship recipients with their awards.

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