We will be awarding 5 Amina Grace Memorial Fund scholarships through the Maine South Parents’ Scholarship Club for $1,000 each to Maine South High School students in 2024 who demonstrate their commitment and activities around acceptance and inclusion.

 Including everyone and promoting acceptance adds value to the community and society. Inclusion is about having positive interactions with your peers. It builds on diversity and respects the contribution of each student.

The application period is now open and applications can be accessed HERE and Letters of Recommendation HERE. Completed applications with an essay must be turned into the CCRC at Maine South High School and Letters of Recommendation emailed to applicationsmspsc@gmail.com by Friday March 22nd, 2024 at 3:30 PM. The scholarships will be awarded to 5 deserving students during Maine South Senior Honors Night on May 1st. These are our future leaders, and we know how important it is to acknowledge all the amazing work on inclusion being done by these students!

These are the winners of the Amina Grace Memorial Fund Scholarship for the 2023 school year!

Morgan Gioia

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 includsion to a large group. I definitely felt like I was making a larger change and reaching way outside of my immediate community.”

Katrina Hassman

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

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 Kuppers 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.”