Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 31, 2019 21 Spotlight on Schools Our Lady Academy Senior Marguerite Gelpi signed her Letter of Intent to Rhodes College to run track and field. The Lynx are getting the state champion in Class 2A discus with a throw of 90’6. Gelpi will also have the opportunity to shot put, hammer throw and javelin as a OLA Senior Marguerite Gelpi, state champion discus thrower, signed a National Letter of Intent to run track and field at Rhodes College. Joined at the signing were her parents Susan and Gus Gelpi with OLA principal Marilyn Pigott. Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis freshman at Rhodes College. Gelpi commented, “I am excited about beginning a new chapter at Rhodes College and being able to con- tinue to compete in track and field. It will be a big step, but I am ready for the challenge.” Gelpi, an honor student with a 4.0 GPA and a 30 on the ACT, is the president of the Ambassador Club, a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society, Vice President of the National Spanish Honor Society, and holds office as the Vice President of the Senior Class. When Gelpi is not on the field or studying, she vol- unteers her services at Buddy Ball, King’s Kitchen, Saint Gerard Women’s Center, Camp Bratton Green, and Camp Gumbo. Gelpi added, “Track and field at OLA taught me valuable lessons like leadership and teamwork. In life, we are called on to be leaders all the while being a member of a team. Track is unique in such a way that we compete as individuals for a team goal. It has taught me how to persevere and seek out opportunities to lead. I look forward to continuing that at Rhodes.” Gelpi is the daughter of Susan and Gus Gelpi of Bay St. Louis. OLA’S Marguerite Gelpi commits to Rhodes College Our Lady Academy (OLA) senior Kennady Hertz has been awarded the Mississippi Society of Italian American (MS SOFIA) Scholarship. The MS SOFIA Program is sponsored by the Gulf Coast Italian American Cultural Society (GCIACS) to in an effort to fund college scholarships to Italian American Students John Howell of MS-SOFIA Presents OLA Senior Kennady Hertz with a check in the amount of $1,500. residing in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. Candidates must submit an essay on what their heritage means to them and have at least one ancestor who has emigrated from Italy. Hertz wrote in her essay, “I have been blessed to have such a strong Italian heri- tage. My family instilled in me the values of a strong Catholic faith, family ties, and character. My grandfa- ther’s grandfather, Salvadore Palazzo, emigrated from Ustica to Gulfport in 1911. He overcame the setbacks and went on to produce a line of successors who would be sure to make him proud. In my family, there are teachers, doctors, postmaster generals, and even a U.S. congressman, Steven Palazzo.” Hertz has attained the Principal’s honor roll since freshman year at OLA and is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Society, Spanish Honor Society and is co-captain of the OLA Cross Country Varsity team. She is the recipient of the Schoen Heier Bonura Scholarship, named 2019 Star Student, and is the recipient of the 2019 President’s Volunteer Award. In addition, she holds office as presi- dent of the OLA Interact Club, class representative of the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and head of the Social Media/Community Outreach of the Robotics Team, treasurer of Campus Ministry and captain of the Quiz Bowl Team. Hertz will attend the Honors College at The University of Mississippi and will pursue a major in Public Policy Leadership and aspires to join the Italian- American Club to further study abroad. OLA senior Kenneday Hertz awarded MS-SOFIA Scholarshp Our Lady Academy Hanna Dawley has been award- ed the $3,000 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship for 2019. She is the thirty-fourth recipient of the scholarship, which is awarded annually by a board of directors to a superior foreign language senior student from any of the high schools in Hancock County. Dawley, whose high school courses included four years of French, was the silver medalist in Le Grand Concours -- the Nationals French Contest, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French -- achieving ranking as eighth in the state and the 90th percentile nationally. Dawley will attend Tulane University and will pur- sue a major in International Relations with a minor in French. She has been accepted into Tulane’s Spring Scholar Program, which will afford her the opportunity to spend her first semester at the American University in Paris. Dawley is a member of the National Honor Society, the French Honor Society, the National Art Honor Society, the National Mathematics Society. She is the recipient of the Betty Bensabat Scholarship and the Sisters of Mercy Scholarship and is a member of the OLA Quiz Bowl team. In addition, she is a tutor, vol- unteer and ambassador for the Boys & Girls Club Qatar Center and is the first female counselor-in-training at Camp Stanislaus in the camp’s 90-year history. She is the daughter of Michael and Charlotte Dawley of Pass Christian. OLA Hanna Dawley Awarded the de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship Hanna Dawley, left, receives the 2019 Emily de Montluzin Foreign Language Scholarship from Mary Langenbacker.