Albemarle County Democrats (Virginia)

James and Nellie Butler Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to the four students honored with the James and Nellie Butler Scholarship Award this May! This award is given to one student in each of the four Albemarle high schools, demonstrating academic excellence, need, and – especially – commitment to serving the greater good. Each of these students will receive  $1,000 towards their educational expenses.

Rajaah Alagib graduated from Albemarle High School and will enter UVA in the fall. She served on the Principal’s Advisory Council, worked with the Tom Tom Youth Summit, won many awards in Forensics, and worked with Leadership Albemarle to understand the economic foundations of Charlottesville in order to promote high level occupations in our community.  She moved here as a young child from Sudan, and wants to use her perspective to Pursue development in economic and educational policy, helping to give voice to those who have not yet found their voices.

Henry Chin, a graduate of Monticello High School, will also study at UVA this fall. Henry has been involved with science projects, educational projects for young children, and conservation projects. He’s worked to maintain beehives at Monticello, build bat houses, create Bilingual Children’s theater for elementary school students. He wrote a curriculum for young children to prepare them to be environmental stewards, and he presented at the Tom Tom festival on the important role of insects in the ecosystem. Henry will study science at UVA, and wants to teach young children.

Lilliana  “Lilli” Shelton graduated from Murray High School, where she is one of five Peer Mediators. This past year she also took classes at PVCC, and will enroll full time in the fall before moving on to get a four-year degree, where she plans to study Natural Resource Preservation. Lilli has worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation  in fundraisers and education days. She wants to use her interest in science to promote sustainable practices, for businesses and consumers.

Reagan Burton served as Western Albemarle High School’s Executive Council President for the last two years.  She’s gotten Silver and Bronze awards through Girl Scouts  Feeding the Hungry projects. Through her work she did on a Mission trip to Kenya, she has decided to study medicine to help needy communities throughout the world. This fall she will begin those studies at UVA.

In his response to winning the Butler Scholarship, Henry Chin wrote, “I am incredibly honored and grateful to have been chosen as Monticello High School’s James and Nellie Butler Scholarship recipient. Reading about the Butlers, I was very moved by their generosity and all that they did to support education, civic engagement, and the community. They are true role models, and I am grateful to you for carrying on their legacy. I am inspired by the values promoted by your scholarship program, and it means so much to me to have been identified as an individual that can help to bring about the positive change championed by the Butlers and the Albemarle County Democrats.”