Poppy Hinson, 2024 recipient of the Alice Watkins Scholarship, shares a passion for literature and learning with Alice Watkins Senter, the mother and pastor’s wife for whom the scholarship was named.
This interest inspired Hinson to want to serve her community by becoming an elementary school teacher. The scholarship will help her earn a degree in early childhood education from Clemson University.
Alice Watkins Senter was gifted in poetry and music, but her life was shortened by a tragic illness. To celebrate her most productive and happy times, her family established a scholarship in her name through the Community Foundation of Greenville. The scholarship provides $10,000 for a Wade Hampton High School student with a love of English, literature and poetry to pursue a degree in higher education.
“As I read about the life of Alice Watkins Senter, I couldn’t help but think about my own father and how much he also loved language, poetry and literature,” Hinson said in her application for the scholarship. “He too passed away at much too young an age from a rare and incurable illness. Despite our short time together, he instilled in me a deep love for literature and language.”
While in high school, Hinson participated in the teacher cadet program, a college-level course designed to attract talented young people to the education profession. She also developed her talent for music, performing with the Wade Hampton Marching and Concert bands, Jazz Band and Percussion Ensemble. She was selected for the All-County Wind Ensemble and All-Region Band and attended the Fine Arts Center.
Hinson received the South Carolina Parent Teacher Association’s Reflections State Award of Excellence in Literature and was the Reflections school winner for Music Composition. She was a member of the Tri-M Music Honors Society and the National Honor Society, received an AP Scholar Award and qualified for the South Carolina LIFE scholarship.
Hinson will attend Clemson as a South Carolina Teaching Fellow, a program that provides a scholarship of $6,000 per year as well as enrichment activities and opportunities for professional development.
“Teaching Fellows offers retreats, workshops, master classes and opportunities for community service,” Hinson said. “I hope to study abroad in my second year, and would like to continue with a master’s program to expand my career prospects.”
Hinson – who has a twin brother entering university at the same time and a younger sister not far behind – said she and her family are very appreciative of the the Alice Watkins Scholarship, which will help her minimize college debt.
“I am grateful to come from a family that loves to read and write, and honored to receive a scholarship given by the family of someone who had similar passions and values,” she said.
Debbie Cooper, Community Foundation director of community impact for grants and scholarships, said, “The Community Foundation is proud to support outstanding students like Poppy while honoring our donors’ wishes.”
