By Hannah Curran, Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Two high school seniors were chosen to receive the Donna Smothers Walker Memorial Scholarship. The 2022 winners, Mary Elizabeth Reeves and Grant Corson, were announced in April at the Hewitt-Trussville High School Senior Award Ceremony.
Walker passed away on April 15, 2021, at the age of 57. She left behind a legacy that will live on through the many students she taught during her 33 years as an educator.
Former Paine Primary and Hewitt Elementary Principal Betsy Schmitt said that Walker had impacted many people in her years teaching at Paine Primary.
“We thought about starting something kind of fun in her memory,” Schmitt said. “We established the scholarship for a student from one of her kindergarten classes. So a senior who had her in kindergarten, and lots of people made donations to the account.”
Schmitt explained that in 2021 the memorial fund for Walker raised enough money for one senior to receive a $1,000 scholarship.
“We had over $900 left for this year, so the family decided they wanted to make sure that two students got the scholarship,” Schmitt said. “They added an additional $1,000 scholarship and were able to grant two $1,000 scholarships.”
Reeves and Corson were chosen this year, and both agreed that their time spent in Walker’s kindergarten classroom impacted them greatly.
Walker’s dedication to her kindergarten class shines through all her students. Reeves and Corson said that Walker always made her students feel welcomed and appreciated and that she was the type of teacher that wanted to be in the classroom every day, positively impacting the lives of children.
Corson said one of his favorite memories from Walker’s class was the “coconut buoyancy test.”
“She asked us if the coconut would sink or float, and of course, the entire class of kindergarteners said it would sink,” Corson said.
After watching the coconut float, Walker helped the students understand why it does, in fact, float and not sink. Without realizing it, a group of kindergarteners were going through the process of the Scientific Method.
Walker left a lasting impression on Corson when he was just a little boy. He said even though they didn’t know what the Scientific Method was, they were asking questions and figuring out why things happened the way they did.
“Looking back, it was days like those that really shaped who I am today,” Corson said. “I’m very honored to receive this scholarship.”
Reeves also agreed that she wouldn’t be who she was today if it wasn’t for Walker. Her first time in a school classroom was when she walked through the doors of Walker’s class, and Reeves said that Walker made sure that she had everything she needed to succeed in life.
“One core thing I really remember is at the end of the year, she wrote in everybody’s yearbook,” Reeves said. “It kind of kept me going. She said, ‘I wish I had 20, Mary Elizabeth’s, in my classroom.'”
Even as she got older, what Walker wrote in Reeves’ yearbook is something she carried throughout her life.
“The scholarship was something I really wanted because knowing what she did, not only for me but everybody else. She was more than a teacher, and she deserves everything in the world.”
Both Reeves and Corson plan to attend college in the fall. Reeves started courses at the University of Alabama at Birmingham this month and will major in marketing. Corson will attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville and will major in Chemical Engineering.
“She was an exceptional teacher and so loved by this community,” Schmitt said. “I’m so happy that her family is going to be able to continue the scholarship in her memory.”