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January 26, 2010

CLOSING ONE SCHOOL BLESSES ANOTHER:
Trinity High School Alums Establish Scholarship to Benefit Calhoun Community College Students

High school spirit lasts. The names of the school, the team and the year of graduation are designations that shape personal history and individual stories. Deep down inside, most of us are still Raiders, Bears, Eagles, Rattlers, Jaguars or something akin to them, because the schools we pledged allegiance to as teens are home to the memories of our cherished youth.

Then imagine losing your school—just before you graduate. That's what happened to Limestone County 's Trinity High students in 1970. That year, the doors of that area's only African-American high school closed, compelling scores of minority teens to carve out new identities as the new kids on the block as they were parsed out to other area schools. After 105 years of educating minority students, four years worth of Panthers would never be able to graduate from Trinity High.

Most went on to graduate from various other high schools in Limestone County . They all made important new friendships and most embraced their new found alma maters. Many went on to become valuable leaders in their local communities.

Despite acclimating and moving on, for some their hearts would always belong to Trinity. Years into adulthood and professional life, many of Trinity's last sophomore class decided to formalize their old relationships once more. Former classmates began reuniting in memory of what would have been “Trinity High School Class of 1973” with the idea of keeping the name of their high school cemented in the minds of all those who had passed through the doors of Trinity.

The Trinity High School Class of 1973 has met monthly, at first rekindling old friendships and reminiscing over old bonds. Later they began to realize that a shared love of history and the story of the school of their youth had the potential to inspire other young people. “We realized that our lives were great examples of how we all must learn to cope with change and the difficulties that life presents,” said Denise Harris Stovall. “We wanted to use our own experiences to encourage other young people to keep looking forward, while holding tight to their roots.”

In pursuit of that effort, the Trinity Class of 1973 has undertaken a host of small fundraisers to generate the money to create a scholarship that funds the future and remembers the past. The class has partnered with Calhoun Community College to create its first scholarship award to be given in 2010. While all students are encouraged to apply for this $500 award, priority consideration will be given to applicants who can demonstrate a historical tie to Trinity and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. “It could be a grandparent who went to school there or you could even be the neighbor of a retired Trinity teacher. The way the student is connected to Trinity is not what is ultimately important. What we're trying to do is simply compel young people to stop and think about the history of their community and to get them to ask others what ties they might have to that history,” said Deborah McDonald. “You really can't appreciate the value of looking forward until you assess the past.”

The first scholarships will help fund college tuition at Calhoun for freshmen starting in fall 2010, and the Class of 1973 hopes to help many students in the future. “We're excited to have this new annual scholarship,” said Terri Bryson, dean of the Huntsville campus and director of development at Calhoun. This class is a great example of how any group can come together over a shared experience or a common interest and use their personal life stories to affect mission-minded progress in our community. I hope many others will follow their lead. The good they are doing together will have a lasting impact on the lives they touch.”

Applications for the scholarship are being accepted online now through March 1 at www.calhoun.edu/scholarships . Interested students should be sure to check the box marked “Trinity High School Affiliation” and include a reference to their personal Trinity connection in their general essay.

Janet Kincherlow-Martin
Director of Public Relations
(256) 306-2561

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