A Thank You From Charisma O’Connor Memorial Scholarship Recipient
The Charisma O’Connor Memorial Scholarship honors a Williston High School senior who was on her way to the beach for a class outing when an inattentive driver tragically killed her. We are honored to support her legacy and love receiving kind letters like the one below from this year’s winner. Thank you to all of our applicants!
I am writing to thank you for your generous scholarship. Even though I was not able to personally accept the scholarship, my grandparents accepted on my behalf at the Awards Ceremony while I was in Fort Myers with the Williston Middle High School baseball team competing in the Class IA State Championship (by the way, we won!). My grandparents called me after the Awards Ceremony and I was very happy and appreciative to learn that I was selected as the recipient of the Charisma O’Connor Memorial Scholarship.
Growing up I watched my parents, neither with a college degree, work hard for everything that they knew we needed and did their best to provide things that we wanted. Unfortunately, they could not afford to set up a Prepaid College Fund for me, but I am thankful for and appreciate them for everything they have done. My parents helped me appreciate the value of a dollar and helped me realize the importance of a college education. Your scholarship will help reduce the financial burden placed on me and my family while I further my education.
In the fall, I will start my freshman year at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL, pursuing a degree in Information Systems Technology and eventually a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Forensics. I promise to work hard and maintain the same school work ethics I did while in High School, graduating with Cum Laude Designation.
Attending college has been made easier because of your thoughtful and generous scholarship, thank you for supporting Williston Middle High School graduates like me. I am forever grateful.
-Charisma O’Connor Memorial Scholarship Recipient, 2019 – 2020 Academic Year
Mr. Fine was born in New York, New York, and was raised in the northeast, where he studied sociology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He then graduated with honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1976. In law school, he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, was inducted into the Order of the Coif, and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. Mr. Fine was admitted into the Florida Bar in 1976, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 1977, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 1991, and the United States Court of Appeals 11th Circuit in 1982.