PFRA is excited to announce this year’s recipients of our three $1000 scholarships are Kaylee Lin King, Mikelah Westwood, and Carson Gafford. The PFRA application review committee had a very difficult time being able to select only three recipients from a large pool of outstanding and very deserving candidates. The committee sends their appreciation to everyone who submitted an application and we know all these students will have a very successful education and career ahead of them.
Kaylee is the daughter of Captain Shane King at Station 9. She graduated this past May from Wills Point High School with a GPA of 4.612 out of 5.0 and ranked #1 in her class of 146 students. In addition to her high school diploma, Kaylee also received an associate’s degree from Trinity Valley Community College with a 4.0 GPA. Kaylee will be attending the United States Air Force Academy majoring in Aerospace Engineering and joining the Space Force after she graduates. The USAF Academy director of Admissions stated in his letter of her appointment, “…Kaylee, you have earned a rare opportunity to participate in one of this country’s finest officer training programs. This appointment is awarded to only about 1,200 of our 9,700 applicants. Your previous accomplishments indicate you have the potential to meet the demands and challenges of the Academy and you should be extremely proud of your appointment as only the best of the best are so rewarded…. I compliment you on a tremendous record of personal achievement and look forward to welcoming you to the Cadet Wing on June 24, 2021.”
Mikelah Westwood is the daughter of Captain Craig Westwood at Station 13. Mikelah graduated from Royce City High School with a GPA of 4.785/5.0 and graduated in the top 2% of her class of 489 students. She is enrolled at Texas A & M University College Station and will begin her journey this Fall Semester towards her career goal of becoming a surgeon by working on her undergraduate studies in Biomedical Sciences. Mikelah chose TAMU “due to the high ranking it had in Biomedical Science Colleges.” From there, she plans to continue on to medical school, internship, residency, and fellowship. Some of Mikelah’s achievements in high school include Honor Roll, Spanish National Honor Society, National Honor Society, Top 10 class rank, and “Top Dog” in her high school which honors graduating seniors based on GPA, participation in clubs, organizations, leadership positions, and participation in academic and athletic extra-curricular activities. In addition to her busy student and volunteer schedule, she works part-time at a veterinary clinic. Throughout her 4 years of high school, Mikelah had no grade lower than 90 with most of her junior and senior year being AP classes.
Carson Gafford is the daughter of Driver/Engineer Sam Gafford at Station 3. Although her sisters Cadie and Kinley (recipients in 2014 and 2018, respectively) set the bar high for their younger sister, Carson met the challenge this year by graduating from Bells High School in the top 7% of her class and being accepted to The University of Oklahoma this Fall 2021. Carson values educational and career goals as a motivation to accomplish her goals of “doing well in college, getting accepted into a good dental school, and obtaining my Doctor of Dental Surgery degree” while studying at U of O. While in high school, Carson kept herself immersed in studies, extracurricular activities, and part-time jobs. In the classroom, she has received awards in Pre-Calculus and AP Biology, along with being recognized as a National Honors Society member and being on the Superintendent’s Honor Roll during all four years of high school. Her Extracurricular activities included participating in volley, basketball, softball, track, FFA, National Beta Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also dedicated at least 100 hours of community service. Carson also acquired dual credit in General Studies from Grayson College with a cumulative GPA of 4.0.
