Ashley Ridge High School (ARHS) senior Hope Gillis keeps a busy schedule. On the night of her fourth academic awards ceremony, she was rushing because she had just come from cross-country practice.
“I had to rush home and get cleaned up,” Gillis said. “Then, find a dress to wear.”
Cross country and academics are just two areas in which Gillis excels. She is also a member of HOSA-Future Health Professionals and is actively involved in clubs and her church community. Additionally, Gillis is the only National Merit Scholarship semifinalist in Dorchester School District Two (DD2).
The enterprising student arrived at the ceremony and took pictures with friends to commemorate the last academic awards ceremony of their high school careers. Gillis also had the opportunity to honor an exceptional educator who supported her during her academic career, and she chose AP Chemistry and Research teacher Lindsey Jutzeler, who helped her foster an appreciation for challenging subjects.
However, a special announcement set this year’s celebration apart from previous years for Gillis.
She earned the Ashley Ridge Academic Achievement Award Scholarship, sponsored by the Dorchester District Two Educational Foundation. When Gillis’s name was called, her friends and family celebrated on her behalf.
“They asked, ‘Why do you want this scholarship?’” Gillis recalled. “Similarly to how I wrote my college admissions essay, I wrote about my experiences growing up with my autistic older brother and how that’s shaped who I want to be.”
Inspired by her family experiences, Gillis aims to become an occupational therapist. She said she’d like to major in kinesiology or health science during her undergraduate studies, then attend MUSC for a graduate degree.
“I think the more that you recognize kids for the good things that they’re doing, the more that they’ll continue to try to strive to do the right thing,” said ARHS Principal Brooke Matthews. “To study a little bit harder or to maybe go to evening school a couple more times a week so they can receive the highest achievement that they possibly can.”
Matthews said the academic awards ceremony at ARHS has grown over the years; whereas the crowd used to fill half the gym, now, school officials are considering splitting the event into two nights or streaming to an overflow room to accommodate the number of people in attendance.
“It gets me excited,” Matthews said. “It gets me fired up.”
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