Former Briceville School graduate and honor student at Anderson County High School, Casey Amanda Prosise, will receive the 2003 Nantglo Scholarship for $10,000 from the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation (CCWF). Casey volunteers with Special Olympics and participates in clean-up and flood abatement activities in Coal Creek. She also won an essay contest sponsored by CCWF.
Casey
Prosise (left) receives her
$10,000 Scholarship from
CCWF President Barry Thacker, PE
In her essay on improving the quality of life in the Coal Creek watershed, Casey says, "Education is the ticket. When the mining industry was booming, Coal Creek meant prosperity for the hard working miners and their families. Hope was in the eyes of all. The young faces are still smiling, but despair surrounds many others. Given confidence and direction, the young can soar to great heights. Otherwise, they will never challenge themselves to fly."
Casey offers a prescription for a return to a booming economy in her community. "Coal Creek is historical. Clean it up, make it more people friendly, and tourists will come. I want to take the skills I obtain majoring in business at UT-Chattanooga and apply them to my community. A better educated community will mean a better life for everyone and I want to lead the way."
UPDATE FROM CASEY -- SEPTEMBER 2015: Casey Prosise Swindall, our second Nantglo Scholarship recipient, will receive her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from UT Chattanooga in December.
Casey (center) at her Briceville
Kindergarten graduation ceremony
Coal
Creek Scholars (left to right)
Kristie Braden, Frances Lee Braden
and Casey Prosise
Frances-Lee Braden
graduates from LMU with
Degree in Business Administration May 2007
Frances-Lee with
parents and grandmother
at LMU graduation
Frances-Lee and roommate
Jennifer from Venezuela
Coal Creek Scholars Program participants, Kristie Braden and Frances Lee Braden, received $1,000 scholarships from CCWF. Kristie also received a scholarship from Roane State, and Frances Lee received a scholarship from Lincoln Memorial University.
In 2007, Frances Lee Braden was awarded an additional $2,000 for continuing to mentor Briceville students at our Coal Creek Scholars Day each year.
The Nantglo Scholarship, named in honor of the Welsh coal miners who settled Coal Creek, is offered to graduates of Briceville Elementary School to assist them in attending college. Requirements to earn the scholarship include participating in community service projects in Briceville and being a mentor to current Briceville School students. CCWF's goal is to give these students the incentive to excel in middle school and high school, knowing that they have the potential to get a college education.