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Two Students Awarded GPS Scholarships

Annual awards given to an outstanding junior and senior student.
Two students at Girls Preparatory School, senior Olivia Combs and junior Astra Burke, have received notable in-school scholarships for the 2018-19 school year.

Olivia Combs received the Grace McCallie Scholarship, awarded to the rising senior who has maintained the highest GPA. The scholarship was established in 1918 in memory of Grace McCallie, one of the school’s co-founders.

Combs plays first violin in GPS honors orchestra and in Tango string quartet. She is a class representative for the school’s service organization, Partnerships in Community (PIC), and is a GPS Ambassador. She is an active participant in school drama and musical productions. Combs regularly volunteers with the IRONMAN Chattanooga triathlon and Habitat for Humanity builds through PIC and has participated in the Erlanger VolunTEEN Program, an eight-week service learning opportunity for students ages 15 to 18. She won the Duffy-Jarnagin Scholarship last year.

Astra Burke received this year’s Duffy-Jarnagin Scholarship, awarded annually to a rising junior. The scholarship was established in memory of two of the school’s co-founders, Tommie Payne Duffy and Eula Lea Jarnagin. Award criteria state that the girl “should be highly respected by her class” and have qualities of integrity and loyalty. Scholarship and service to the school also play a part in the award decision.

As co-president of the GPS Computer Science Club, Burke applied for and received a sizable grant from National Center for Women & Information Technology. The club will use the grant to fund a computer science camp for underserved second- through fifth-grade girls in the Chattanooga area summer 2019. Burke also received a NCWIT computer science award and is a Carson Scholar. She plays on a select soccer team.
 
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