The DKR Scholarship Has Its First Recipient  

ALTON - Since the announcement of the $1,000 Derrick and Kathleen Richardson Scholarship on March 5, 2021, the scholarship has received over $2000 in additional donations from generous individuals and organizations. “This will allow the awarding of additional scholarships. When people realize the potential impact that this could have, they want to support and contribute”, says Derrick Richardson, the scholarship co-founder.

This year’s recipient is Raelynn Ballard, a recent graduate from Edwardsville High School Class of 2022, who has always had an interest in the medic side of being a first responder will receive a $1,579.00 scholarship. While waiting to enroll in the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Program at Lewis & Clark Community College in May of 2022, she began going through probation training with the Maryville Volunteer Fire Department in January of 2022 to see if she had an interest in the fire service side as well. Raelynn, who resides in Edwardsville, says she plans to pursue a full-time career with a fire department after she completes the EMT & Paramedic Program at Lewis & Clark Community College and gets her licenses. Shanena Brooks, an LC EMT Program Instructor, and Darla Brooks, the LC Program Coordinator, told her about the scholarship and encouraged her to apply. It also helps that our scholarship has a link on the program’s webpage lc.edu/program/paramedicine.

This scholarship’s aim is to encourage Blacks/African-Americans to enroll in the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Program at Lewis and Clark Community College. Nowadays, most paid career fire departments in the United States require applicants to be EMTs or Paramedics before they can apply for the job. This has created a disparity in the number of Black/African-Americans in the Fire Service across the U.S. This scholarship is an incentive aimed to increase the percentage of Black/African-Americans getting an opportunity to be hired into the Fire Service. This scholarship is open to Black/African-Americans that reside within Madison County, Illinois that enrolls in the Lewis and Clark Community College Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certificate of Completion Program.

The LC EMT Program is about $1500.00 a semester. This scholarship is offered to students in the Fall and Spring semesters, and can be used for tuition, fees, and/or supplies, in conjunction with other scholarships and tuition assistance programs. Students wishing to apply for the scholarship can contact the Lewis and Clark Community College Foundation at (618) 468-2010 or apply online at https://www.lc.edu/Scholarships/.

To donate to the Derrick and Kathleen Richardson Scholarship, you can send a check to the Lewis and Clark Community College Foundation or donate online at https://www.lc.edu/Foundation_Scholarships/. Specify this scholarship in the check memo or in the add special instruction section online.

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