Students Named WALKS Scholars

The WALKS Foundation has named Westminster students Atesha Gifford ’12, Ashlee Robinson ’13 and E.J. Dejoie ’15 as WALKS Scholars for the 2011-2012 academic year.
 

WALKS is an acronym for five Hartford area schools — Westminster School, Avon Old Farms School, Loomis Chafee School, Kingswood Oxford School and Suffield Academy. In its 55th year, WALKS’ central purpose is to enroll in its five member schools, students from Greater Hartford whose horizons are limited by family income but whose talents, commitment and energies promise community leadership in the coming years.
 

Atesha Gifford ’12, a resident of Manchester, Conn., is a returning Sorenson Pearson Scholar and a Steppingstone Scholar. She is a member of the Prefect Board and a dorm prefect. She also participates in the Multicultural Student Union, the EcoTeam, the Cook Nook, Seniors as Sisters, Model United Nations, basketball and dance. Off campus, she volunteers at the Community Farm of Simsbury and at her local library.
 

Ashlee Robinson’13, a resident of Hartford, is a returning Gummere Scholar and a Steppingstone Scholar. She participates in the Dance Ensemble, the Multicultural Student Union, field hockey and basketball.
 

E.J. Dejoie ’15, a resident of Hartford, is a General Scholar and a Steppingstone Scholar. He serves on Second Football. Prior to attending Westminster, he won an award for outstanding achievement in math, performed in his school’s drum band, and played for the Manchester Jets and his school’s basketball team.
 

In addition to the three WALKS Scholars, Isha Garg ’12 was named a recipient of the Barnes Service Award in recognition of her volunteer service and leadership with Serving Our Neighbors, for which she serves as president, the MS Walk, the Angel Tree Project, Red Cross donations, and volunteer work at McLean and in India. She has worked on Westminster News and the yearbook, and is a member of the Belles.
 

The students attended the annual WALKS Scholars luncheon Oct. 18 at the Hartford Club where Atesha gave remarks about gaining confidence and living life to the fullest. “At Westminster, I’ve learned that as human beings, we dwell in a vast desert of choices with only our moral compass to guide us down a path to the life we choose,” she said. “As human beings, we also make mistakes, do things we know we shouldn’t, have things not always work out in our favor and have our own unique story to tell. These are the reasons why I believe that we should live life to the fullest of our ability, not only accepting our faults, but also using them as a guide to navigate us through both the high and low points of our lives. A lot of people spend a vast majority of their lives preoccupied on what they did yesterday instead of focusing on how to live today and, not to mention, the day after. I try to live my everyday as if tomorrow might never come and yesterday was a distant memory.”