Three Hanover County high school students are recipients of college scholarship support from the Hanover Democratic Committee.
Katherine Howe Lindley, a student at Maggie Walker High School and Mechanicsville resident has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Lindley has been incredibly active in the cause of “Free to Read” in the wake of the Hanover County School Board banning books from school libraries. She created Banned Book Talk Notes for school clubs and groups and Banned Book Nooks in businesses in Hanover County. She also created a social media presence (@free_to_read on Instagram) to share her project. These efforts were featured in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other media outlets.
Saxon Grace Kelleher, also a student at Maggie Walker High School and Mechanicsville resident, has been awarded a $750 scholarship. Kelleher canvassed for Abigail Spanberger’s Congressional campaign in 2022 and for Schuyler VanValkenburg’s State Senate campaign in 2023. She also has been active in the Young Democrats at her high school.
Jed Gonzales, a student at Mechanicsville High School, has been awarded a $500 scholarship. Gonzales knocked doors and phone banked for Josh Parramore’s 2023 campaign for the Mechanicsville seat on the Hanover Board of Supervisors. Jed was also vice president of the Mechanicsville High School Young Dems Club and active in the Diversity Club at his school.
The awards are presented under the Bobby Ostergren/Melissa Dopp Scholarship Fund administered by the Hanover Democratic Committee. Ostergren was a committed Hanover Democrat, and Hanover County Registrar for years. He died in 2011. Dopp, who died in 2014, was a dedicated and much-loved leader of the Hanover County Democratic Committee who was responsible for the committee’s digital transition and social media presence. In these scholarships, we honor their work and their lives. Presentations were made June 9 at the monthly meeting of the HDC.
Recipients are chosen on the basis of their participation in Democratic campaigns, their support of Democratic candidates, or their role in participation or formation of a Democratic club in their high school.
