Photos by Layne Herpin with St Landry Parish Government
BOBBY ARDOIN
Contributing Writer
Four Opelousas-area public high school students were each presented with $1,000 in scholarship funding by a local civic organization Sunday during a ceremony held at the Delta Grand.
Opelousas alderman Marvin Richard was one of several St. Landry Parish elected officials who attended the annual event sponsored by the I-49 Trail Riders.
Richard said the students who are seniors attended Opelousas High, Northwest High and J.S. Clark Leadership Academy, were honored at the event along with their parents.
Receiving the scholarship funding were Seth Lewis and Amaya Ifford from Opelousas High, Alayla Reed of J.S. Clark and Ivory Amos of Northwest, Richard said during a Monday telephone interview.
Richard said the I-49 Riders began presenting the annual scholarships to students 11 years ago.
“The (Riders) started off as a trail riding organization and we wanted to find a way to help the local students who were recommended to us for scholarships by officials from the school,” said Richard.
This year Richard said each of the three schools submitted the names of the students who received the scholarships following a school-based vetting process.
“The organization asked the officials at each of the schools to pick students that were honored during the event. We try each year to hold events that will allow our organization to reach out into the community,” Richard said.
