Several members of the Roanoke Chapter, Continental Societies, Inc. were proud attendees at the Virginia Western’s Community College Educational Foundation’s Annual 2017 Awards Ceremony and reception on Wednesday, March 22. They were able to meet, greet and congratulate the organization’s endowed scholarship recipient for 2017, Miss Shakim Holland Deskins, a native of Franklin County, VA. With the chapter’s financial assistance, Miss Deskins will complete her requirements at VA Western and continue her academic studies for her BS degree at George Mason University.
The chapter established the Endowed Scholarship in 1988 under the leadership of President Francis Keene. Since that time, over $10,000 has been awarded to help the students at the college continue his or her education.
In addition, Virginia Western is celebrating its 50th year in providing affordable, accessible and quality educational opportunities and workforce development to residents in the Roanoke Valley. The awards program recognized approximately 110 scholarship recipients from dedicated community donors.
The members were also honored to meet 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Carol M. Swain, nationally recognized author, public speaker and political commentator, who worked at the college, got her educational thrust and later graduated from Roanoke College (BS ‘83), Virginia Tech (MS ‘84), Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (PhD ‘89) and Yale University (MS ‘00).
The mission of the Continental Societies is to work with children and youth, that they find that education is the key to success in life, they established the endowed scholarship to help those older youth meet success as they also support the Virginia Western’s mission of education.
A delicious reception followed in the Horace and Anne Fralin Science & Health Center where the members met and congratulated many of the recipients.
Gloria Randolph-King is scholarship chair, Donna Lee is chapter president.
