Ron Register Scholarship recipients announced

Alaysia Brooks

The Ron Register Scholarship Committee has announced that Damari Loretz and Alaysia Brooks are the recipients of its awards for the 2020–21 academic year.

Both are graduates of Cleveland Heights High School and members of the National Honor Society.

The scholarship is named in honor of Ron Register, who served on the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education for 16 years. 

Damari Loretz excelled in Honors, Advanced Placement, and College Credit Plus courses, including physics. She made the Honor Roll every semester, and her class rank was 27 out of 409. She participated in numerous extracurricular activities.

She tutored students and was a member of the Minority Student Achievement Network and Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. Leadership Academy.

Loretz plans to study interior design.

As a candidate for the Ron Register Scholarship, Loretz demonstrated her awareness of social injustice and the need for change. In her application essay, she wrote:

"As a minority in America it's hard to overlook the constant injustice and oppression that takes place across this country . . . [which] hits extremely close to home and is deeply concerning to me. If law enforcement and the people who are supposed to protect us cannot be trusted, who can we turn to? What do you do when you're terrified of the people who are supposed keep you safe? How can you live in constant fear that you, your mom or brother may be next?” 

Alaysia Brooks ranked 49 out of 409 in her class. She, too, excelled in Honors, Advanced Placement, and College Credit Plus courses, and was a member of the National Honors Society.

Brooks demonstrated her leadership skills, organizational talents, and compassion for others in taking several American Sign Language classes to help those with hearing loss. 

She interned at the Cleveland Clinic, and earned her CPR certificate and State Nursing Assistant certification—all while still in high school.

Brooks was a member of the track and volleyball teams, and the Student Leadership Cadre (a group that gives students a voice in addressing change and equity). She played trumpet and sang in the gospel choir. 

Brooks plans to major in nursing.

Quentin Smith

Quentin Smith is a transplanted New Yorker, a former community organizer, high school teacher, and lawyer. 

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Volume 13, Issue 10, Posted 5:32 PM, 09.30.2020