By: Sharon Aron Baron
As a way to honor and remember their late son, a Boca Raton couple has created a Marjory Stoneman Douglas Scholarship to help students who want a college education, but don’t have the top GPA scores to typically earn one.
Through a donation from Ann and John Wood and their FairfaxWood Scholarship Foundation, they are offering 10 scholarships to the deserving senior class of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and have partnered with The George Snow Scholarship Fund to administer the scholarship awards.
The Wood’s hope is to bring a ray of hope to the students whose last year will always be the memory of a school massacre. “These students need a new bright light to guide them,” said John Wood. “Hopefully, others in the community will be inspired to donate a partial or full scholarship to the current seniors.”
A British national raised in Trinidad, Ann Fairfax Wood trained in the medical field in London and has been a 35-year member of the Boca Raton beautification committee. John Wood, is a U.S. Navy veteran who grew up in New York and is a civil engineering graduate of NYU. After their marriage and completion of John’s education, the couple established a prestressed concrete business in Trinidad with modest aims. Their firm, Pres-T-Con, built bridges, piers and cruise ship facilities throughout the Caribbean. Their eldest son, Bruce, who the scholarship is dedicated to, joined the firm in 1980 becoming chief engineer in charge of bridge and marine construction. In 2002, he died at the age of 44 from a construction accident.
The 10 scholarships will pay tuition and fees up to $5,000, which are renewable for three more years.
Applicant details:
- Must demonstrate financial need
- Must be graduating from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
- Preference will be given to applicants who are studying for a career in STEM related majors
- Recipients must be working outside of school or active in their school or community
- Recipients must set high standards for themselves, by highly motivated and express determination to succeed.
- Preference will be given to students whose GPA is between 2.5 and 3.5
The application deadline closes on April 2, 2018. Students may live in either Coral Springs or Parkland, as long as they attend the school. Apply at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Scholarship.
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