Manassas Club Awards Scholarships

by Jen Weigel

The Kiwanis Club of Manassas held its annual Scholarship Night on Thursday, May 20, 2010. Three Key Club seniors were awarded $1000 scholarships in recognition of their contributions to their respective Key Clubs. We wish these three young ladies the best of luck in college and their future K-Family activities.

Miss Amanda Best will be graduating from Osbourn High School. In her Key Club, she served as Class Representative her freshman year, Vice President her sophomore year, and President for the past two years! She attended the Sponsored Youth Night in Fredericksburg last year. Her most significant Key Club volunteer experience has been leading the "Out of the Darkness" Suicide Prevention project. Her team distributed T-shirts and bracelets to raise awareness. "Not only was this a big statement our school made, and united us all once more against suicide, but it was also a great way for many of the students - including myself - to heal," she said. Outside of Key Club, Miss Best has been active in many different school activities, including four years of Varsity Volleyball and being Team Captain this year. She is also active in her family's church and will be graduating in the Top 5% of her class. Miss Best plans on attending Johns Hopkins University where she will double major in Pre-Medicine and Psychology.

Miss Courtney Matheny will be graduating from Osbourn Park High School. In her Key Club, she has served as President. Her most significant Key Club volunteer experience has been volunteering at Rikki's Animal Refuge. She has a special affinity for a dog name Duke Thomas Peabody III ... sounds like royalty ... and said that she is "honored to spend the day doing whatever the workers there need me to do, knowing that they put their lives into giving these animals a home they never had. I will gladly continue to visit there for the rest of [her] life." Miss Matheny is a gifted artist and has participated in a number of other extracurricular activities outside of her Key Club. She has taken a number of advanced courses and will graduate in the Top 5% of her class. She plans on studying Athletic Training at Longwood University.

Miss O'Toole will be graduating from Osbourn Park High School. In her Key Club, she has served as Secretary and Vice President. She attended Key Leader last year and spoke to our club about the positive impact of this program. Her most significant Key Club volunteer experience has been volunteering at the Prince William County Animal Shelter every Sunday. She said that this has been "a commitment to myself to make me a more confident person and feel like I truly make a difference" in the lives of countless mistreated and abandoned animals. Miss O'Toole had also participated in a number of other school activities, including both track and soccer, all while balancing a rigorous academic course load that will culminate in being named Salutatorian of her class. She plans on studying anthropology and archeology at the College of William and Mary.