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CLEMMONS — Seven students from West Forsyth High School received scholarship awards from the Shallow Ford Foundation this year. The foundation serves Clemmons, Lewisville and Yadkin County.

“On behalf of the foundation, we congratulate these students on the hard work they have already done and the bright future they have started towards,” Shallow Ford Foundation Board Chair Tim Bell said. “We also thank the generous individuals who made these scholarships possible and the volunteers who reviewed applications and conducted interviews with our finalists.”

Hank Ballard

Hank Ballard was awarded the Coach Murph Scholarship. The Wall family, through the W.F. Fund, established this scholarship in honor of Coach Murph’s joy-filled spirit and his unwavering commitment to West Forsyth through its athletics. Ballard played football at WFHS, Freshman through senior year. He was team captain his senior year, playing on the offensive line, the positional group Coach Murph spends time with during practice.

Ballard will attend Clemson University in the fall and plans to major in structural engineering or architectural engineering. Ballard hopes to make Coach Murph proud in his time at Clemson.

Joseph Burns

Joseph Burns, currently attending Belmont Abbey College, was awarded the Timothy M. Dunn Memorial Scholarship. Tim Dunn died unexpectedly on Oct. 4, 2022, at age 31 from an undetected aneurysm. Tim’s tremendous influence inspired everyone who knew him — from his wrestling teams at West Forsyth and college to his professional clients and colleagues. This scholarship is made possible by Dunn’s family and is offered this year for the first time. Dunn coached Burns during their shared time at West Forsyth High School. Burns is working towards a career in programming or cybersecurity, majoring in mathematics with a minor in computer science.

Braden Gay

Braden Gay, who will attend Appalachian State University to major in music industry studies-recording and production, was awarded the Rebecca and Danny Green Music Scholarship. Made possible by local philanthropist and Rotarian John Stewart, the award celebrates the importance of the arts, regardless of vocation, and its influence on creativity in all aspects of life. This scholarship was established to honor Rebecca and Danny Green, two dedicated music educators. Gay was an enthusiastic musician at West Forsyth, focusing on jazz and his emerging interest in music recording and production.

Avery Strickland 

Avery Strickland was recognized with the Thad and Mary Bingham Education Assistance Award. Strickland plans to attend Forsyth Tech to pursue digital marketing and medical stenography.

Thad and Mary Bingham were long-time Clemmons residents who loved their community, family and Clemmons United Methodist Church. They gave back in a variety of meaningful ways, including the establishment of the Thad and Mary Bingham Fund with the Shallow Ford Foundation, which has supported many community initiatives and programs. This award is given to two seniors with a clearly stated desire to pursue additional education toward an occupational credential or degree.

 

Harmeni’ Jones 

Made possible by the John Stewart Scholarship Fund, the Leslie Martin Scholarship was awarded to Harmeni’ Jones, who plans to attend Appalachian State University. She hopes to use her intended major in sociology to better understand and better help people through social work and philanthropy. Jones was active in Interact, the high school service club of the Clemmons Rotary Club. The Leslie Martin Scholarship is given to students who were active in Interact or were a CTE Concentrator.

Jones was also awarded the Mary Bingham Education Assistance Award.

 

William Xander Patton

William Xander Patton also received the Leslie Martin Scholarship. Patton plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in biomedical engineering. He cites his time in Interact and West Forsyth music programs as the source of his passion for leadership and cooperation. Patton was active in Interact, the high school service club of the Clemmons Rotary Club. The Leslie Martin Scholarship is given to students who were active in Interact or were a CTE Concentrator.

William Siceloff

William Siceloff was awarded The Mason H. Hunter Vocational Educational Scholarship of the Lewisville-Clemmons Chamber of Commerce. Hunter was a student at West Forsyth who died in 2018 at the age of 17.  The scholarship is the result of community support from the Lewisville-Clemmons Chamber of Commerce, the Hunter family and the countless individuals who stepped forward to honor his life and support students working towards a vocational certificate or degree, something Hunter hoped to do. William plans to become a certified welder, attending Universal Technical Institute. He has previously taken dual enrollment courses at Forsyth Tech to explore welding and is now passionate about pursing this career. After UTI, he plans to obtain a commercial diving certificate and train in underwater welding, hoping to travel to provide this high demand service.

The Shallow Ford Foundation awarded 17 scholarships this spring. The foundation will offer another round of scholarship opportunities for adult students this fall. Learn more about the foundation at shallowfordfoundation.org