News

The active religious life on the campus of Martin Methodist College will benefit by the enrollment of the newest Alford Church Leader Scholars in the next freshman class.

Maggie Taylor and Emily Lewis have been selected to receive the full-cost Dr. Ben Alford Church Leader Scholarship, awarded each spring to a pair of high school seniors who will be enrolling at Martin Methodist in the fall. The scholarship is worth more than $100,000 over four years.

Twenty-six outstanding students visited Martin Methodist College on Saturday, Feb. 25, to compete for the Alford Scholarship, where they interviewed with a selection committee, wrote an essay, toured campus and heard presentations from students and faculty about the college.

“This was a really good group of candidates applying for the Alford Scholarships this year,” said Dr. Edward Trimmer, executive director of Martin Methodist College’s Cal Turner, Jr. Center for Church Leadership. “And we are particularly excited about the two individuals chosen as this year’s Alford Scholars.”

Maggie Taylor of Nashville is a senior at Hume-Fogg High Magnet School and a member of Edgehill United Methodist Church. The daughter of William and Marian Taylor, she has not only been active in student government, Forensics Team and the Red Cross Club at Hume-Fogg, but she has active in her church’s many programs and at the Tennessee Conference level, where she has been president of the Council on Youth Ministries and involved with the Laity Board and Episcopacy Board. She has also taken leadership roles in major UMC events such as Warmth in Winter, Summer Sizzler and Annual Conference.

“Edgewood United Methodist Church has really committed to its mission of neighborhood ministry, and Maggie has been very involved in that effort,” Trimmer said. “And the fact that her peers elected her as president of the conference’s youth council speaks volumes about her leadership and the respect they have for her as a person.”

Emily Lewis of Bell Buckle, Tenn., is a senior at Cascade High School in Bedford County. The daughter of Monica Denise Lewis of Bell Buckle and Brian Scott Lewis of Beech Grove, Tenn., she is not only in the top 10 of her class academically, but she has been president of the Interact Club, business manager of the yearbook staff, co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and a mentor for Teen Trendsetter, Dance Corps and the National Honor Society. She was also a past member of the Youth Leadership Bedford program. She is a member of Shelbyville First United Methodist Church, and has been especially active at Bell Buckle United Methodist Church, teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and being involved with Second Harvest Food Bank, recycling ministry and the children’s Christmas play.

“Emily is just one of those all-round wonderful young ladies who is involved in everything,” Trimmer said. “She is especially involved in the mentoring of young kids, and that was a very impressive thing to our selection committee.”