Coastal Community Foundation awards $226,400 in scholarships

After years of playing the cello, Jonathon Heyward will be able to buy his own.

Heyward, a junior from West Ashley studying cello performance at The Boston Conservatory of Music, is one of 120 students this year to receive a scholarship from the Coastal Community Foundation. The organization awarded $226,400 in scholarships this year.

Heyward said he has been able to save money for his own cello with the money he saves on tuition because of his CCF scholarships. He said buying his own instrument is a goal he has had for a long time. “To say thank you is very mild for how I feel about the foundation and the people there,” he said.

Kemberlea Washington, a sophomore from Moncks Corner studying nursing at the University of South Carolina, had similar sentiments.

“This scholarship means that out of hundreds of applicants, I was chosen to receive this scholarship because someone believes in me and my future. Knowing that people believe in me is what pushes me to try my absolute best to succeed and show those people that they chose a really good candidate for the scholarship,” she said.

Students from Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester counties applied for the awards ranging from $500 to $10,000. Nearly 50 scholarship funds make up the foundation. Recipients were chosen based on their academics, school and community activities and goals.