G&G
What People Say
Fruity Beers
Page 8
Post-graduation plans
Page 7
EGW
MAY 21 AND 22, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
HAGAN SCHOLARSHIP BRINGS
OPPORTUNITY FOR
DAVID CORIA
By John Robinson
[email protected]
When David Coria looks back
on the interview process for the
Hagan Scholarship, he can tell you
plenty of things. How many forms
did he have to fill out?
”Plenty.”
How many references did he
have to get?
”Quite a few.”
How did he feel during the interview?
”Terrified.”
What Coria cannot recall, however, are the words he used to convince the panelists to make him
the first Emporia High recipient of
the Hagan Scholarship since 2013.
“The most important question
was ‘what would make me stand
out from the other applicants?’”
he said. “It probably started with
a few minutes of silence ... I don’t
really remember what I said.”
Even though Coria can’t remember, he certainly made an im-
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
V V V
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
YOUNG EHS GRADUATE KU BOUND
By John Robinson
[email protected]
Dylan Brown is a 15-yearold student at Emporia High
School.
He enjoys tennis, is taking
a french class and has plans
to attend the University of
Kansas after he graduates
from EHS.
Unlike most 15-year-old
students, however, graduation for Brown is Sunday.
Next fall he’ll be a student in
the Honor’s College at KU.
“I’m thinking about majoring in political science,”
Brown said. “But really, I
have no idea — to be quite
honest — what I want to do.”
For Brown, graduating
early isn’t something which
came as much of a surprise.
He simply took the opportunities that were presented to
him.
“I was born and raised
in Chicago and then I came
here,” he said. “They gave
me the opportunity to skip
one grade and I said ‘OK.’
I continued on and went to
Catholic school for a year
before I came back to the
district. Towards the end of
my career in high school I
decided to do my junior
and senior year in
one.”
Despite the accelerated coursework, Brown said
he tried to never
let the thought of
it stress him out.
“I
just
thought to try
the best that I
can,” he said. “If I can do it,
and I’ll see how I do.”
Misty DeDonder, gifted
facilitator at EHS, described
Brown as an “old soul.”
“He is one of my students
who is not only high-achieving but a very hard worker,”
she said. “He’s taking all
junior and senior courses
— all honors and AP — and
done nothing but excel in all
of them.”
Brown’s classmate, David
Coria, had to agree with that
assessment.
“He’s a lot more mature
than most people my age,”
Coria said. “So I thought
that was a pretty cool thing
about him.”
For Brown’s parents,
Derek and Lana Brown, the
thought of sending their
son to college is something
which fills them with pride,
if not a little bit of nerves.
“I’m very proud but at
the same time ... I’m very
nervous,” Derek Brown said.
“That he ran through his
high school experience —
even though he did very
well — it’s so hard as a
parent to let someone
so close to you go. I
do think he is defiPlease see
Brown, Page 3
Please see Coria, Page 3
CAMP ALEXANDER GETS A FACELIFT
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
Camp Alexander recently received a facelift as board members
and volunteers have been busy
getting the camp ready for summer.
The facelift isn’t simply about
sprucing things up for summer
but also about highlighting the
history of Camp Alexander.
Camp Alexander was founded
through the generosity of Edward
Alexander, who was born into
slavery in 1854 and relocated to
Emporia shortly after the Civll
War ended.
Alexander was known for his
generosity to local children — always gifting children with fresh
fruits and vegetables as they
flocked to his wagon. When Alexander passed away, he left all of his
savings and 40 acres to the children of Emporia, Lyon County and
the state of Kansas. His will stipulated that one acre be set aside for
his grave and for the burial of others too poor to afford plots.
Board members recently installed a kiosk on camp grounds
highlighting the history of the
camp and the generosity of Alexander. The camp continues to
carry out Alexander’s mission.
“We want people to understand
the history, how this camp came
about, what its mission is and
JESSIE WAGONER/GAZETTE
Camp Alexander board members stand in front of a recently installed kiosk that includes a map of the camp and the history of how it
became a reality.
what we are here for” Carmen
Leeds, board chair said.
Gary Bacon, board member,
said information kiosk began as
an eagle scout project and grew
from there.
“This started as an eagle scout
project,” Bacon said. “We have the
map here and we have the middle
piece that explains the history and
gets us back to where it all began.”
Camp Alexander is unique
in that it offers scholarships for
young campers fulfilling the mission of Alexander in providing a
place for all children of the area to
enjoy the outdoors.
“It is awesome,” Leeds said.
“With the scholarships we get
Good Evening
Please see Facelift, Page 3
VOL. 124, NO. 277
Congratulations, Graduates!