{"id":5287,"date":"2016-05-25T08:09:58","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T12:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=5287"},"modified":"2025-05-09T14:12:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T18:12:02","slug":"high-school-scholars-recognized-vb-rotary-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/high-school-scholars-recognized-vb-rotary-club\/","title":{"rendered":"High school scholars recognized by VB Rotary Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Be a Gift to the World,” was the message printed on the small flag hanging from the stage podium.<\/p>\n

One by one, guest speakers and award recipients at the Virginia Beach Rotary Club (VBRC) Annual Scholars Recognition Dinner shared what they consider to be gifts in their respective worlds.<\/p>\n

For keynote speaker Dr. Deepak Talreja, a 1990 Cox High School graduate, returning home to Virginia Beach to raise his family and serve the community as a cardiologist has been a gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is very humbling to think of what this community does to support us and what we owe back to the community,\u201d said Talreja who also noted it has been an honor to provide care to many of his former school teachers.<\/p>\n

\"talreja\"<\/p>\n

Talreja was the first Brickell Scholar named by the VBRC 26 years ago. The scholarship was established to recognize Dr. Edward E. Brickell\u2019s service as superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo this day, after what I\u2019ve achieved up until now, that\u2019s still one of the greatest honors I\u2019ve received in my life,\u201d reflected Talreja of the recognition his senior year.<\/p>\n

Brickell passed away in June 2015, and Talreja shared that he was on the team of physicians that took care of Brickell in the last years of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really got to know him during his hospital stays and he was truly and amazing man. Each of you owes it to yourself to see what he\u2019s done and what he\u2019s made possible for all of us in this area,\u201d Talreja implored the student scholars in the audience.<\/p>\n

He said he is amazed that his two children at Kemps Landing\/Old Donation School will be attending a school program next year named in Brickell\u2019s honor.<\/p>\n

\"talreja<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting, the world is a very small place no matter how far you go,\u201d said Talreja. \u201cEverything repeats itself, so learn from all those around you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2016 Brickell Scholar winner, Bradley Hilliard, encouraged guests to \u201cFind Your Why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have one. But being aware of it is key to success,\u201d said Hilliard. \u201cIt\u2019s a question we must all wrestle with on our own. What is important in your life? What is your purpose? And how does that effect everything you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ocean Lakes High School senior described the mantra used by his cross country and track teams this year as more than a sports slogan, but rather, \u201can approach to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hilliard\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must have a motivation greater than the task at hand or you will never achieve your goals. The stronger your \u2018why,\u2019 the greater the \u2018what.\u2019 With a strong \u2018why\u2019 you can do things and get through things that you would have never thought possible,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Hilliard never thought he would have a brain tumor followed by surgery, radiation treatments and year of chemotherapy. He shared how his \u201cwhy\u201d changed drastically in eighth grade.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took my experience with cancer to shock me into the realization that a self-centered \u2018why\u2019 was not strong enough,\u201d Hilliard shared. \u201cI sought after popularity, strength, athletic ability – that was not enough. Even the desire for academic success was not enough. I had to recognize what I already had and focus on how that could be used for something greater to serve others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like fellow Brickell Scholar Talreja, Hilliard plans to serve others as a physician.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world of pediatric cancer has opened my eyes to the good that education can do. Medical advances played a major role in saving my life,\u201d said Hilliard. \u201cIt took my neurosurgeon thousands of hours, years of schooling, and a commitment to his profession to acquire the skills needed to save my life. I know that I have been given the ability to have a similar impact on the world of pediatric surgery and I plan to do so. I plan to attend medical school and eventually serve impoverished communities on medical mission trips.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hilliard2\"<\/p>\n

The VBRC\u2019s \u201cwhy\u201d of being of service to the community is one Hilliard said he respects. \u201cThey have found meaning in something greater than themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The rotary club recognized service to others with two more awards for high school students. It awarded the 2016 Jim Spore Community Service Scholarship to Shaina Moondra, senior at Bayside High School, and the 2016 Richard A. Schlimgen Student Leadership Memorial Scholarship to senior Josh Bensink of Kempsville High School.<\/p>\n

\"MoondraBensink\"<\/p>\n

VBRC scholarship committee chairman Dan Edwards closed the evening by announcing the 2016-2017 Brickell Scholars, noting the program has expanded to include Green Run Collegiate\u2019s first junior class.<\/p>\n

The 23 high school juniors will participate in a seminar series as seniors and one will be selected as the 2017 Brickell Scholarship winner next spring.<\/p>\n

The Brickell Scholars from each high school are:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Annie Clark, Kempsville High School
\n\u2022 Richard Fetter, Tallwood High School
\n\u2022 Hannah Fleming, Green Run High School
\n\u2022 Jordan Goodmurphy, Bayside High School
\n\u2022 Wesley Iobst, Bayside High School
\n\u2022 Jack Jacobs, First Colonial High School
\n\u2022 Grace Jeffrey, Kellam High School
\n\u2022 Chase Jones, Salem High School
\n\u2022 Rohan Joshi, Ocean Lakes High School
\n\u2022 Elizabeth \u201cLiz\u201d Korte, Cox High School
\n\u2022 Tiffany Liu, Green Run Collegiate
\n\u2022 Grace Liu, Princess Anne High School
\n\u2022 Isabel Mastrangeli, First Colonial High School
\n\u2022 Natalie Novkovic, Landstown High School
\n\u2022 Nicolette Pember, Ocean Lakes High School
\n\u2022 Gloria Pezzella, Kempsville High School
\n\u2022 Enya Pfeiffer, Tallwood High School
\n\u2022 Melissa Pineda, Salem High School
\n\u2022 Catherine Scalzi, Kellam High School
\n\u2022 Maya Sinchongco, Landstown High School
\n\u2022 Frayser Wall, Cox High School
\n\u2022 Kaylia Wise, Green Run High School
\n\u2022 Sung Min \u201cSam\u201d Woo, Princess Anne High School<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all have done amazing things to be here. Your generation is lightyears ahead of where my generation was when we were sitting at the table,\u201d said the first Brickell Scholar Talreja. \u201cEvery generation is standing on the shoulders of the generations before them. What you have accomplished and will be asked to accomplish is going to be far in excess of what we achieved here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Be a Gift to the World,” was the message printed on the small flag hanging from the stage podium. One by one, guest speakers and award recipients at the Virginia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-connections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5287"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5297,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5287\/revisions\/5297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}