By CONNIE NOLEN / Community Columnist

Lee Owens whose two daughters, Michael and Kat, both Pelham grads, came to share a $500 scholarship opportunity with my Scholarship Search/Competitive Writing class. This class focuses on writing for publication and scholarship earnings. Owens kept the details of the scholarship to herself.

Informing students that Owens would be presenting scholarship information at their next class, they began asking questions.

“What kind of scholarship?”

“Are we all eligible?”

“What’s the essay prompt?”

“Is Kat coming?”

“I have no answers,” I confessed. “When someone asks about offering a scholarship, my responses are ‘thank you’ and ‘please come and tell us all about it.’”

On Monday, Scholarship Search students entered as Lee and Kat Owens were arriving. With Kat Owens beginning her second semester at the University of Montevallo, the fact that her family is offering a scholarship is generous. Her devotion to her studies, along with her involvement with Literary Magazine, Theatre, ROTC, a diverse array of writing classes and other electives, and a broad spectrum of reading, landed this recent PHS grad UM’s prestigious Montevallo Ambassador Program (MAPS scholarship) which covers room, board, tuition and fees.

A former Scholarship Search student, Kat Owens’ work ethic and winnings freed her family to help others more.

Lee Owens began her presentation with photos of the family’s adorable pets.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that we’ll be offering The Ollie B. Owens Scholarship for Animal Welfare to a 2018 Pelham High School graduate,” Owens said.

Honoring a sweet rescue pup that the family nursed back to health, the Ollie B. Owens scholarship is intended “to raise awareness about animal welfare and create compassion.”

Owens went on to share that student submissions were intended to “make positive change for Animal Welfare in Alabama.”

“We’re very open to submissions,” Owens said. “I don’t want to limit anyone.”

Scholarship details will be available soon in the PHS Counseling Center featuring Lee Owens’ email for questions.

Impressed by Owens’s nurturing of her daughters for years, the fact that she’ll continue to lead PHS students towards compassion and education with a scholarship is delightful.