2023 Amina Grace Memorial Fund Scholarship Winners Announced!

The Amina Grace Memorial Fund partnered with the Maine South Parents’ Scholarship Club to offer the first annual Amina Grace Memorial Fund scholarships this year!  The Club reviewed all the applications that were submitted, and 4 deserving students were selected on our behalf.  The winners were announced at the Maine South High School Senior Honors Program ceremony in May.  

Our scholarships were awarded to the applicants that demonstrated the highest level of leadership and involvement in advocating for and championing inclusion, acceptance, and awareness efforts for those with differing abilities.

Today we highlight their inclusive activities and congratulate the four Amina Grace Memorial Fund scholarship winners!

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝗶𝗮 has participated in many different activities throughout her high school career with the goal of helping make Maine South a school where people of all abilities can feel comfortable, supported and respected.

Currently an officer for Hawk Pals and over the last 3 years has organized lunch pals, organized events, run social media and unified sports, just to name a few.

• Co-Chair of the Special Olympics Youth Activation Committee for the last two years.
• Planned, executed and facilitated Respect Week the last 3 years.
• Volunteered at the Special Olympics summer games as part of the Special Olympics Youth Leadership Experience.

 “𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱. 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.”

 = = = = = = = = = = =

𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧 has participated in many different activities throughout her high school career including working with other officers of Hawk Pals to help increase peer regarding proper language to utilize when speaking about individuals with differing abilities.

Hawk Pals member for all four years and an officer the last two. Actively participates and encourages others to be part of Lunch Pals.

• Participated in Respect week all four years and helped plan and facilitate the last two year.
• Special Olympics Illinois virtual volunteer who collected data for the Unified Sports program, created content and managed social media to spread information about disabilities and Special Olympics events.
• Special Olympics Illinois Youth Activation Committee Member for two years with senior year as the co-chair.
• Team Illinois youth Leader at the Special Olympics USA games as part of the National Unified Youth Leadership Experience. Wrote 3 articles for Special Olympics Illinois detailing Unified teams at the USA Games.
• MNASR Part Time Staff member providing support to 1-3 children with differing abilities at summer camps and after-school care. Coached softball and bocce teams for adults with disabilities.

 “𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 2022 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘜𝘚𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 4 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘚𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.”

 = = = = = = = = = = =

 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 is a natural organizer who encourages others and wants success for all.

 Hawk Pals member the last two years attending plays, sporting events and other activities with the group.

• Special Olympics Polar Plunge participant the last two years where he helped raise money and spread awareness for the Special Olympics by jumping into very cold water.
• Respect Week organizer for the last two years. He was an active participant in promoting the themes, handing out prizes and candy and helping to run games and events.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘌. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴!”

 = = = = = = = = = = =

 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐊𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬! Natalia has built deep connections with many peers through participation in Hawk Pals and Adapted PE.

 Hawk Pals Officer for 3 of the 4 years she has been part of Hawk Pals.

• Participated in the planning of Respect Week for 4 years.
• Unified Dance partner of her best friend Katelyn (pictured). They made it to state and competed at the IHSA event in Bloomington!
• Participated in Capital Hill Day where she lobbied for additional Special Olympics funding for Maine South as well as Special Education in general.
• Participated in the Special Olympics Illinois Youth Activation Summit for 4 years.

 “𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 (𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘰𝘧-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!) 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘯. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

 Best wishes to Morgan, Katrina, Alexander and Natalia as they head off to their respective colleges in the fall.