Julianna Pledgie Awarded Rosemont Leadership Scholarship

The Clarke County Education Foundation is has named Julianna Marie Pledgie the recipient of the 2023 the Rosemont Leadership Scholarship. The scholarship was created to recognize the student with the greatest leadership potential from Clarke County High School’s graduating class. The Rosemont Leadership Award is the CCEF’s most prestigious and largest scholarship, with the recipient receiving a $10,000 award. The award was presented Sunday, May 21 at 6pm at CCHS’s Senior Recognition Night.

Biff Genda, owner of Historic Rosemont in Berryville, approached the foundation with the idea of starting a new scholarship to replace the Star Leadership Award, which ceased in 2018. He offered to donate $5,000 toward the scholarship each year in exchange for the CCEF matching that amount, making the scholarship a total of $10,000 annually. He also offered to open Rosemont to the foundation for its annual gala, free of charge, to assist the foundation in its fundraising efforts. The gala was held this year on March 17 with over 200 attendees present and raised over $80,000 for the CCEF and its mission to promote, expand, and augment educational opportunities for students and staff in the Clarke County Public Schools.

The teachers and staff of Clarke County High School voted on the top four leaders from the Class of 2023. A point-based system was then used to select the final four nominees, who are presented here.

Julianna Marie Pledgie

Julianna Pledgie is a graduating senior at Clarke County High School. Post graduation, she will attend the University of Virginia to double major in biology and astronomy in pursuit of a career in Astrobiology. Julianna has excelled in her academics, having studied as a NASA High School Intern and two-time Virginia Space Grant Consortium Scholar, and served as senior class president, CCHS Interact Club president, and CCHS National Honor Society vice president. She has received multiple awards of high honor, including the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award and the College Board 2022 – 2023 National Rural and Small Town Scholar Recognition Award.

Julianna was on the CCHS Girls Cross Country team that won the 2022 State Champions title and 2023 State Runnerup title; she competed on the CCHS Scholastic Bowl team, and contributed more than 100 hours of volunteer service to the community. In her free time, Julianna enjoys reading, baking, playing tennis, and ballroom dancing.

Carleigh Janae Kidrick

Carleigh Kidrick, a Clarke County High School 2023 graduate, has attended Clarke County Public Schools since elementary level. As she has grown over the years, she has become an asset to the community. During her years at CCHS, she served as a member of Interact Club, which works with the local Rotary Club on service projects (local and global), and was a member of the National Honor Society. Carleigh has worked diligently as football manager since 2019. Along with being a part of CCHS football, Carleigh has been a member of Health Occupations Students of America all four years of high school. Carleigh plans to continue her academic studies at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va., and will major in nursing. Since 2022, Carleigh has kickstarted her career as a certified nursing assistant at Winchester Medical Center.

In her spare time, Carleigh enjoys being an aunt and big sister to the littles in her family.

Ella Grace O’Donnell

Ella O’Donnell was born and raised in Clarke County. She served as student body president, vice president of Health Occupations Students of America, annual reporter for DECA, and member of National Honor Society and Interact Club. Ella also was 2022 homecoming queen for CCHS and a captain of the varsity soccer team. She has been a member of the varsity team since her freshman year and was a part of the 2021 state championship team. Ella competed in DECA district and state competitions three years as a high school student. Ella obtained her Certified Nursing Assistant license while in high school and worked as a C.N.A. at Winchester Medical Center.

Ella will be attending the University of Kentucky this fall as a pre-nursing major. Her dream is to obtain her nursing degree to provide care and comfort.

Graham Worden Wolford

Graham Wolford is a charismatic leader of Clarke County High School’s class of 2023. One of Graham’s most involved positions was his role as president of Clarke County’s DECA chapter. He earned this role after competing in DECA for all four years of high school and serving as an officer during his junior year. Graham has been an officer in Interact Club his junior and senior years, helping to organize and fundraise for community service projects. Throughout high school, Graham was involved in SCA, National Honor Society, Environmental Club, Spanish Club, the IB Diploma Programme, cross country, track, tennis, basketball, and has been a member of the Yearbook staff. Next year Graham will attend the College of William and Mary as a Monroe Scholar to pursue a degree in business finance with a minor in Spanish. He hopes to attend law school.

The scholarship was judged by a 6-person committee of local community members that included Mayor Jay Arnold; Matthew Bass, who serves on the Clarke County Board of Supervisors; Lauren McKay Cummings, a Communications Strategist with Navy Federal Credit Union where she manages internal communications projects; Kristin Foltz, a 1999 CCHS graduate; Gwendolyn Malone, a retired Clarke County Public Schools teacher; and Sheriff Tony Roper.

The Clarke County Education Foundation, established in 1991, is an independent public charity dedicated to promoting, expanding, and augmenting the educational opportunities for students and staff in the Clarke County Public Schools, by generating private support and involvement to enhance these publicly-maintained services. For information visit www.ccefinc.org

For information regarding this scholarship, The Rosemont Leadership Award, how to donate to this fund or information regarding the CCEF, contact Beth Williams, Clarke County Education Foundation executive director, at 540-955-6103 or ccefinc.berryville@gmail.com.

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