LOWNDES COUNTY —  Lowndes County Schools recognized six eighth graders as their seventh cohort of REACH Georgia scholars just before Christmas break.

REACH, an acronym for Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen, is the State of Georgia’s first needs-based mentorship and college scholarship program. It provides promising students the support to graduate from high school and achieve postsecondary success.

Interested students obtained and completed applications early into their eighth-grade year. Candidates went through a rigorous interview process before being selected. Just six students system-wide were named recipients of the scholarship: Israel Alegria, JaHari Carter, Dakota Hall, Violet Lofton, Marissa Marberry and Alyce White.

Students were surprised with a signing ceremony amongst their peers, LCS district leaders, their family members, and a giant $10,000 college scholarship check.

REACH scholars are held to a high academic standard, must exhibit positive behavior, and maintain good attendance. All of this is monitored by school officials and their mentors, whom they meet with often.

Should the student meet these standards through their high school career, they are awarded the $10,000 scholarship to a HOPE-eligible college or university in the Georgia. The funds have the opportunity to be doubled or tripled depending on the institution.

— Israel Alegria (Hahira Middle School) aspires to one day become a cardiothoracic surgeon.

— JaHari Carter (Hahira Middle School)  aims to play football at the University of Georgia while majoring in art.

— Dakota Hall (Lowndes Middle School) hopes to study veterinary science at the University of Georgia and be a member of the cheerleading team.

— Violet Lofton (Pine Grove Middle School) hopes  to play soccer in college and pursue a degree in sports medicine to become a physical therapist.

— Marissa Marberry (Lowndes Middle School) wants to attend the University of Georgia to become a teacher.

— Alyce White (Hahira Middle School) is an eighth-grader who wants to attend Spelman College, majoring in pre-medicine, to become a healthcare provider for women.