Scholarship Recipients

Faria Rasul

High School Graduation 2021

Scholarships Received: Suzanne Yeiser Memorial Scholarship and 2+2 Take Stock In Children

"Receiving a scholarship through PEF has helped me move closer in achieving my educational and career goals. Currently, I am a freshman at the University of South Florida working towards receiving my Bachelor's Degree in Science, and this scholarship has benefitted me by covering costs of tuition and fees. Also, receiving this scholarship gave me a boost of confidence and showed me that I was capable of doing anything I put my mind to along with hard work and time. Earning this scholarship was a stress reliever because now I have less worries about payments and more of my time can go towards my studies and fulfilling my dreams!"

Hannah Townley

High School Graduation 2021

Scholarships Received: Lakeland Sister Cities International Scholarship

"Through the Polk Education Foundation, my senior year of high school I was one of the recipients of the Lakeland Sister Cities International Scholarship, an organization that seeks to promote peace and cross-cultural understanding through community cooperation. These values had a significant impact on my college career. I studied abroad in Mexico, and completed an internship in Ghana, which broadened my horizons by introducing me to new cultures, but showing me that the mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation between others it takes to build a strong community are universal ideas. Throughout college, I worked on two long-term research projects focused on building peace: one on women's rights around the world, and another on supporting immigrant communities right here in Florida. And now, working with Worldwide Opportunities for Organic Farmers on the Big Island of Hawai'i, I'm contributing to how sustainable food practices can be used to fight climate change and build healthier communities. Each of these values from the past few years can be traced back to the values of the Sister Cities scholarship through PEF my senior year, and I am incredibly thankful for it."

Kasie Provost

Winter Haven Senior High Class of 2017

Scholarships Received: Grant Lacerte Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Music, Winter Haven Women's Club Scholarship, and T.J. Bowden "It's all good" Passion Project

Kasie graduated in the top ten at WHHS and was an active member in the band and multiple other clubs on campus. She was heavily involved in the community as well as music theatre. At Florida State University, Kasie was a member of the Florida State Marching Chiefs and went on to earn a Medal of Honor. She also had the amazing opportunity to serve as President for her sorority and be a peer counselor to the college kids on campus. Kasie graduated in December of 2021 with two degrees and three certificates. She is starting her masters in the fall of 2022 focused on mental health counseling while earning accreditation in play therapy. After completing, Kasie wants to begin working in low economic areas to provide resources to children who are in search for help. She also plans on pursuing her PhD in Counseling Psychology. Kasie's end destination will be owning her own private practice providing all types of therapy for kiddos including music therapy, speech therapy, sports therapy, etc… Children and their families will participate in talk therapy, completing their initial intakes. Referring families to different in house therapy sources based on their needs, while all providing a place they trust!

Kasie went on to share, "These scholarships allowed me to enter college with an eagerness to explore and find my place in the world post high school graduation. The world is a scary place and having the security of scholarships to help lessen the scariness of money aspects allowed me to be more engrossed in the world of a normal college student. It allowed me to obtain two degrees and become one step closer to the career I've always dreamed of having. I am forever thankful for all of the encouragement and support from the Polk Education Foundation and others who funded my way through college. I wouldn't be where I am now without all of the love and support!"

Madyson Miller

Harrison School for the Arts Class of 2014

Scholarships received: Latt Maxcy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship

"As a first-generation college student, the opportunity to further my education was very important to me. I was so nervous I wouldn't be able to afford the cost but, the Polk Education Foundation (PEF) made my college career possible. I will never forget the day during the Harrison School for the Arts senior award ceremony when PEF announced I won a scholarship. I remember being so incredibly honored. All my dreams were finally possible. I truly believe the opportunities I have been presented with would not have been possible if it weren't for PEF and Maxcy Foundation paving the path for me. Once I finished my undergraduate degree and decided to pursue the ambition of higher education, I was matched with an all too familiar struggle. The US Virgin Islands challenged me with high living expenses, travel fees, and international tuition rates. I was not expecting to receive any aid from Maxcy Foundation and was overwhelmed with gratitude when I was notified that they wanted to assist in funding my graduate degree. I will remain forever thankful to PEF and Latt Maxcy for helping me follow my dreams, setting me on the path for success, and being a support system through the years," Madyson shared.

After graduating from high school, Madyson majored in Marine Biology at the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola, FL. During her undergraduate years, Madyson had several opportunities to dip her toes in the field of Marine Biology. She worked as a lab technician in The Janosik Research Lab where she executed an entire project called "Microplastic Ingestion in Mysid Shrimp from the Great Lakes". She was also the President of the Marine Ecology Research Society at UWF. Madyson's most exciting undergraduate adventure was when she got to study abroad in Indonesia! There she got to work on several different research projects located on a tiny remote island in the middle of the Coral Triangle (a massive coral reef system). Following her undergraduate, Madyson worked in Biloxi, Mississippi on the Salt Marsh Bird Project through Mississippi State University for 6 months before deciding to pack up and move to the US Virgin Islands where she would complete her master's degree at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). At UVI, Madyson studied an invasive seagrass in the Caribbean. In addition to her thesis research, Madyson collaborated on a published research project ping into the coral disease that is plaguing Florida and the wider Caribbean. While completing a degree during COVID-19 wasn't easy, Madyson made the most of it and even won a World Water Day video contest that allowed her to travel to Hawai'i to attend an International Youth Ocean Policy Summit. In addition to Hawai'i, Madyson's advisor invited her to work as his summer research assistant in Bodega Bay, California. While there, she worked with some of the ocean's strangest critters! Madyson passed her thesis defense and graduated with her M.S. in December 2021 with a GPA of 3.8! Before graduating, Madyson received a prestigious honor awarded by the National Sea Grant College Program called the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. This fellowship has allowed Madyson, and her new cat, to move to the Washington DC area to work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program. In addition, Madyson continues to follow her passion for persifying the STEM field through work with organizations like Women in Ocean Science, Heirs to Our Oceans, and the US Youth Advisory Council for the UN Ocean Decade.

Cydnie Jones

High School Graduation 2009

Scholarships Received: NuJak Companies & Polk County Builders Association

"Receiving a scholarship through Polk Education Foundation, aided me with gaining financial ability to attend an out of state school (on the top 10 list for a MLA) to pursue my current career path in Landscape Architecture. I attended University of Central Florida directly after I graduated from high school. I then transferred to Kansas State University (KSU) in fall 2010 to pursue a master's degree in architecture; however, while in attendance my career interest shifted focus onto Landscape Architecture. While studying at KSU in 2014, I was granted an opportunity to be KSU's first scholarship-sponsored student to study abroad for a semester at the University of Western Australia. Australia is an amazing sight! After my return from studying abroad, I researched, studied, and produced a published book of my master project and thesis in the spring of 2015. By the summer of 2015, I landed a job with an excellent engineering consultancy firm and have relocated several times in the last few years to assist the firm with their growth in government-oriented design. Right now, I am single and fully career- oriented, working on passing my last national exam to become a licensed Landscape Architect."

Sarah Breed (Stegall)

High School Graduation 2006

Scholarships Received: Polk County Financial Professional

"Growing up in Fort Meade and attending Southeastern University in Lakeland, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. While at SEU, I worked as a freelance writer at The Ledger newspaper and, after college, Charisma magazine. In 2011, I moved to Jerusalem, Israel, to become a high school literature teacher. It was there I met my husband, Josh (a California native), who was already working there as a government/history teacher. We married in 2012. Soon after I began working for the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce before we returned to Jerusalem in 2014 for one year. Upon moving back to Lakeland, I began a second term at the Lakeland Chamber as Director of Initiatives, which included serving as the Program Director for the Chamber's signature Leadership Lakeland program. After four years in this role, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. In 2021, I made a career change and started my journey at Parker Street Ministries-a Gospel-centered community development nonprofit in Lakeland-as Director of Development & Communications.

The Polk Education Foundation (PEF) scholarship jumpstarted my college education. I used the funds to participate in SEU's Summer Scholars program and completed two courses in a short, but rigorous, two weeks. Because of this opportunity made possible by PEF, I confidently began my first year and felt ahead of the game and better prepared. This made me available to say yes to other career opportunities that may not have been possible otherwise. I am forever grateful to the Polk Education Foundation for its impact in my life, education, and career! "