Alondra Barrera Garcia’s dedication to the study of environmental science has earned her a $1,000 scholarship awarded by Teresa Myrick and established to honor a hard-working student in a field of study important to Teresa’s husband, Tim Myrick.

Alondra, a May graduate of Oak Ridge High School, plans to attend Berea College in Kentucky this fall, where she will major in environmental science and sustainability. She was a student in Deni Sobek’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science class at the high school.

“The class assured me that this is what I wanted to dedicate my life to,” Alondra said. “I would like to use my interest in the environment to aid it and solve the problems that affect it, and hopefully make the world a more sustainable planet, to ensure that it will be safe and healthy for future generations.”

In 2012, Myrick and his wife Teresa pledged $25,000 to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation’s “Making the Critical Difference” campaign for grants and scholarships. Their pledge provides an annual scholarship to a top AP Environmental Science student, as well as grant funds to be awarded to ORHS Science Department applicants. Alondra is the seventh recipient of the Myricks’ AP Environmental Science scholarship, with previous scholarships presented through ADFAC, or Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties. [Read more…]