“I will not let his life be remembered as tragic or bad, and I will not give a podium to the bad people.”
These words were spoken by Letitie Clark, the mother of Ryan Clark and scholarship chair of the Ryan Clark Scholarship Foundation. Since 2009, the foundation has awarded scholarships to students who are involved in community service. To pick a winner, a panel of previous scholarship winners read through the submissions and sent the top five to Clark. From there, she said she looked over and picked her best five and then from those picked three for the scholarships. Those winners were recognized at a ceremony on May 11.
“I am very nervous always about when we do these ceremonies,” Clark said of how she was feeling that night. “It means so much to me to see how many young people are still giving back and doing so well.”
When speaking about Ryan, who was killed in the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, Clark said he was one of her three blessings and was taken from this life way too soon.
“He was coming to the aid of a fellow student when he was taken from this world,” Clark said. “But what he gave to this world is his momma a passion to give back even more because through bad things we can do good things…So, I’m going to give him his light. I’m going to do my best to keep it going, but I can’t and couldn’t not do it without you, our students who still give, who work so hard and parents that stand behind them.”
The 2023 Ryan Clark Scholarship and Community Service Award winners are Brooklyn Oliver, a Greenbrier High School student who received $2,000; Julia Wessner, a homeschool student who received $1,000; and Caroline Hilley, a Lakeside High School student who received $500.
Oliver has plans to attend Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala. and plans to study health sciences with an emphasis in becoming a physician’s assistant. As for how it felt to receive the scholarship, she said it was “amazing.”
“I’m so blessed to be chosen for this community scholarship because community means a lot to me,” Oliver said. “I’m part of a nonprofit group (Columbia County Kids Care) outside of school and I just love helping people, it puts a smile on my face. I’m really honored to have this scholarship in honor of Ryan Clark.”
Wessner was the first homeschool student to receive the scholarship, which she said was exciting. She plans to attend Toccoa Falls College and major in nursing. As for how she felt after receiving the scholarship, it was hard for her to find the right words.
“I don’t even have words, I could literally cry right now,” Wessner said. “It’s so exciting, it’s relieving too. We all pay for our own college in my house, so it’s making it all possible.”
Hilley is attending UGA next year and plans to major in human development and family science.
“It’s amazing,” Hilley said of receiving the scholarship. “It’s such an honor, it feels great.”
The guest speaker for the event was Jasmine Sims, the chief of staff for Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson. She told the scholarship finalists that reflection is a good thing to do when it comes to the different aspects of life. Sims said she always goes back to three fundamentals that make sense to her, which are God, her family and her community. She also spoke about triumph overcoming tragedy.
“With tragedy can come triumph because we can depend on something stronger,” Sims said. “The legacy that Ryan has left us from a very painful tragedy that we have suffered too many times across this country, too many times across the southeast, allows us to reflect on the things that are important, such as family.”
She said it’s amazing to see the Ryan Clark Foundation work to build upon the legacy of Ryan Clark and keep his memories alive.
Attendees also heard from Bianca Jones, the 2022 Ryan Clark Scholarship. She spoke about the importance of community, which can be found everywhere.
“The thing that comes to my mind when I think about my first year of college is community,” Jones said. “We find and create community in so many ways, in our families, schools, extracurriculars, wherever it may be. When I think of the Ryan Clark Scholarship, I also think of community. The bravery and compassion of Ryan Clark with his fellow classmates, the tremendous support that this scholarship has gained in the local area and all of you who I know have dedicated your time and energy to bettering your community.”
Money for the scholarship is raised through donations and the annual Run for Ryan fundraiser. For more information or to make a donation, visit https://www.ryanstackclark.org.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
