Ms. Ashlee DeMarinis was a special education teacher at John Evens Middle School who sadly, passed away in 2020. She was adored by many people, and they still cherish memories of her. After her passing, the Caring Hands Scholarship was created in honor of Ms. DeMarinis. It is an award for high school students who have a GPA of 2.5 or higher and who are interested in pursuing a teaching degree. However, becoming a teacher isn’t a requirement. This year, following the fall walk fundraiser, 17 students each received a piece of the $5,000 raised to apply to their dual credit fees at Potosi High School.

Ms. DeMarinis’s family said, “Ms.D’s Caring Hands Scholarship was created to carry on Ms.D’s legacy of service and passion for education. Our mission is to provide scholarships to deserving high school students intending to pursue a degree in teaching.” Ms.D’s kind and helping nature is still inspiring students.

Her family continued, “Ms.D, was a beautiful and selfless soul, always willing to lend a hand, full of advice, and a role model to many. She was taken from us too soon.”

Junior Lillian Portell had Ms.D for two years for Trojan Time at JEMS. “I always waited for Trojan Time because when I first came it was hard with everything going on but she was the one person I wasn’t afraid to ask, and if she didn’t know any of the subjects she still tried to help.”

Ms. D was a wonderful individual who helped many children. It’s amazing how you can sense where her kindness was deeply embedded in her family’s hearts and how they showcase it by awarding these scholarships to seriously impact student lives in the same way she did. The Caring Hands scholarship is extremely beneficial to the students who receive a portion of the funds.

Senior Autumn Sellers said, “The scholarship helped me financially. I come from a very low-income family so paying for these kinds of things is hard. But I don’t believe that should stop me from getting a higher education so being given this scholarship opportunity has given me a chance.”