2022 SIPOA Scholars Recognized

The Sea Island Property Owners Association (SIPOA) recently recognized the 2022 College of Coastal Georgia student recipients of the organization’s scholarship during a special reception held at the Clara Wood Gould Memorial Library at the Brunswick campus. This is the fourth year of the scholarship, and it is awarded to employees of Sea Island or family members of employees attending the College.

This year’s scholarship recipients are: freshman Mason Agnew, who is interested in data science and finance; senior Jacob Williams, majoring in accounting; sophomore Kierra King, majoring in psychology; senior Amy Clark, majoring in early childhood and special education; senior Miyona Davis, majoring in business; and freshman Abigail Kirkland, majoring in criminal justice.

SIPOA members formed the scholarship to express their gratitude for employees whose hard work contributes to the success of Sea Island. The scholarship includes a mentorship program where recipients are paired with members of SIPOA for advice on career and networking opportunities. SIPOA representative Terry Bridges said what makes the scholarship different is the mentorship program.

“We don’t just hand out money. We hand out people who have experience in the areas where these students have an interest,” Bridges said. “It’s proven incredibly important for the students who’ve gone through the program to have contact with people in their area of interests—it’s invaluable.”

SIPOA board member Bob Guido commended the partnership between the College and the Sea Island Company. He’s looking forward to continued growth of the program and building a family of SIPOA scholars. He emphasized that the purpose of a SIPOA mentor is to add to the guidance a student is already receiving from their college advisor.

“We want to supplement the faculty advisors with what we believe is—based on our successes and failures—lessons learned, and transfer that to the students,” Guido said. “The mentor aspect can be the change of a lifetime for a student.”

SIPOA mentors include entrepreneurs, business executives, bankers, lawyers, certified public accountants, teachers, doctors, nurses, and financial planning experts.

College President Michelle Johnston told the SIPOA scholars how proud she was of their accomplishment.

“Your education, your opportunities, your world will be bigger because of your SIPOA mentors,” she said. “Thank you, scholars, for being such an impressive group.”