South River’s Caitlin Byrnes Named Dell Scholar—Gets $20K and Laptop

Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman Bob Mosier sent a media release announcing that South River High School senior Caitlin Byrnes was honored by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation with $20,000 in addition to a laptop computer and printer as one of the winners in the Dell Scholars Program.

Caitlin’s award is one of 300 scholarships given annual to students from across the country. This year only two winners are from Maryland. A Baltimore student, Rita Gunter, also won a Dell Scholar award. Since 2004, the Foundation has provided students with $31 million in college scholarships.

The media release said that the Dell Scholars Program places greater emphasis on a student’s determination to succeed than just academic record and test scores. The purpose of the scholarship program is to empower students to gain the knowledge, skill sets, and attitude needed to cope with their changing world and the circumstances in which they live.

Mosier said that Dell Scholars are students who demonstrate their desire and ability to overcome barriers and to achieve their goals. Each application is evaluated based on the student’s determination to succeed, his/her future goals and plans to achieve them, and self-motivation in completing challenging coursework.

Caitlin serves as an editor on the South River High School newspaper, The Current, and is a member of the National Honor Society and the varsity girls soccer team.

She will be attending Washington College in Chestertown in the fall.