By B.C. Manion
When Cameron Burris went searching for potential college funding, she had no idea that her Google search would lead to a $20,000 scholarship.
The 17-year-old, who founded “Today’s Teens with a Cause,” said she was stunned when she heard she had been selected as a KFC Colonel’s Scholar, which carries a $5,000 annual scholarship for four years.
The Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation awards 75 of these scholarships annually.
The scholarship recognizes the young woman from Land O’ Lakes for her community involvement and commitment to education.
Burris, who plans to attend the honors program at Florida State University, said the scholarship helps her to fulfill her dream to study abroad for a semester. Now, she just has to decide – which will it be, Italy or Spain?
The recent graduate of Land O’ Lakes High has been involved with community service efforts for years, first becoming acquainted with a variety of community service organizations when she was participating in National American Miss and American Coed beauty pageants.
Her exposure to the community service organizations enabled her to help her peers when they were seeking ways to fulfill community service requirements, Burris said.
Burris created her own community service organization called “Today’s Teens with a Cause.” Essentially, Burris said she helped teenagers who wanted to fulfill community service requirements to find organizations needing their help.
Those student volunteers have created cards for terminally ill children, made cookies and cards for veterans and have performed an assortment of other good works.
Burris said teenagers often are overlooked when groups are seeking volunteers.
Instead, she said, “a lot of times you see really, really young children who think it’s fun, or you see a lot of older people.”
The KFC Colonel’s Scholar Program, sponsored by the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation, is an independent charity supported by KFC. The scholarships are awarded based on students’ financial need and the impact they have in their school and community. The program has awarded more than $8 million since its inception in 2006.
The KFC scholarship puts a premium on volunteerism.
It requires recipients to complete 300 community volunteer hours within the school year. It also requires recipients to maintain a 2.75 grade point average.
Burris said she expects to be a lifelong volunteer.
It’s something she’s passionate about because there are so many others in need, Burris said.
Chris Mook presented the scholarship on behalf of KFC at a Celebration of Excellence ceremony on May 19.
“When you look at how many students in today’s economy are scrambling for scholarships, I was thrilled when I heard one of the (scholarship) winners was from our local area,” said Mook, president of Phil Mook Enterprises, which owns 10 franchises including one in the Village Lakes Shopping Center at 21617 Village Lake Shopping Court.
Although not involved in selecting Burris for the honor, Mook said once he met her, he understood why she was chosen. He senses the young woman will go on to accomplish great things.
In addition to the scholarship from the foundation, Burris also received a gift from Mook’s company.
“We bought her a laptop,” Mook said, noting he comes from a family that prizes the value of education, and they wanted to help provide Burris with tools she needs to succeed in college.
