Polk County High School Scholarship

Heather's Hope Foundation
$1,000 Scholarship

Heather’s love of children and learning was evident through her commitment to education and her students. As a lasting legacy to her memory, the foundation will provide college scholarships every year to two students—one male and one female—that demonstrate outstanding character, commitment and compassion for others.

Interested seniors wishing to make application for the $1,000 Heather’s Hope Scholarship must submit an application by May 22, 2020. The requirements are listed below:

Must be a graduating senior in a Polk County high school.
Submit an essay on domestic violence: What can be done to lessen the acts of domestic violence in our community, and how does domestic violence affect families? OR submit a PSA that can not be longer then 60-second segment and geared towards dating violence awareness and prevention.
Must have an average GPA of 3.0
If selected by our committee you will be asked submit a wallet size photo of yourself.

Essays will be judged and winners selected and posted here by May 23, 2020. Recipient's photo will appear on this page if chosen for the scholarship.

2017 Heather’s Hope Scholarship

Congratulations to Samantha DeMaris of Lakeland High School, our 2017 Scholarship Winner!

Cortland Schofield

D'Anna Peterson

2016 Heather’s Hope Scholarship

Awarded to Cortland Schofield of George Jenkins High School, D'Anna Peterson of Tenoroc High School and Sadie Jackson of George Jenkins High School.

2016 Special Scholarship

In 2016 we gave a special scholorship to a 2013 recipient of the Heathers Hope Scholorship. Tyler Almon sent us an update email and we decided to help him with his Law School career:

My name is Tyler Almon and I was a past recipient of the Heathers Hope Foundation Scholarship back when I graduated high school in 2013 from McKeel Academy. I just wanted to email you and let you know how appreciative I was for the $1,000 scholarship that you gave me to put towards my undergraduate studies. That money was put towards my education at the University of South Florida, where I graduated with honors in May of 2016 with my bachelor's degree in political science.

Furthermore, I will be starting law school in the fall of this year at Georgia State University. Here, I will receive my JD and move one step closer to fulfilling my passion of stopping domestic violence all around the Tampa Bay area. It was an absolute honor to receive the generous scholarship from your foundation. I promise to use my future legal education to give hope to the hopeless and fight for those struggling for a voice to be heard. Domestic violence is a continuous threat to our society and when I become an attorney in three more short years, I will strive to put an end to this horrific issue.

Again, thank you for allowing me to be the 2013 recipient of the Heather's Hope Foundation Scholarship. I will forever be grateful for the gift that you blessed me with.

Respectfully, Tyler Almon