Infinity Announces Anniversary Scholarship Winner

We have our first ever Anniversary Scholarship winner!

About the Scholarship

As part of our 20th anniversary celebration this year, Infinity decided to create a scholarship. We wanted to give back to the community that has supported us for the last two decades, and we want to help encourage the next generation of Information Technology professionals.

Open to graduating high school seniors in Chatham, Effingham, and Bryan Counties, the application process consisted of a simple form to include relevant computer science classes taken (and passed) and a teacher recommendation. Applicants were also asked to submit a no-more-than-five-minute video explaining how they view IT and the ways it can be used to improve our lives.

The Prize

The scholarship award was set at $2,000 to be used however the winner (and his or her parents) see fit. This could mean paying for higher education costs, allowing the winner to travel and gain world experience, or covering the cost of living while the winner pursues an unpaid internship. At Infinity we believe there are various learning styles and paths to success, and we wanted our scholarship award to support that.

Celebrity Judges

To help ensure impartiality, we asked respected members of the community to serve on our Scholarship Review Committee. We were honored to have Ron Wilson, Executive Director of Royce Learning Center, who has helped hundreds of teenagers prepare for college or attain credentials/certifications in a vocational track, and Kim Gusby, WSAV Anchor and native Savannahnian who you can find in local classrooms or volunteering through various social/civic organizations when she’s not on the air, perform this difficult task.

As Wilson told us, “I enjoyed giving feedback about the candidates. I found their style and presentations very interesting. I wish all of them the best! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be involved in such a great undertaking. I applaud Infinity for making the scholarship available to these aspiring future tech wizards!”

We are incredibly grateful to them for their time and attention.

And now without further ado…

Our First Winner

Congratulations to Ryan McKenna, shown here accepting his scholarship award from Chuck Brown and David Brown. (Click image to enlarge.)

Ryan graduated from South Effingham High School on Friday, May 24, 2019, with an expected 3.4 GPA. He plans to attend Georgia Southern University this Fall, majoring in Information Technology with a minor in Cybersecurity. His ultimate goal is to become a cyber warrior and defend our nation’s information systems, helping people not worry about getting hacked and lose their confidential personal information.

His Intro to Business and Technology teacher Jenna Gerbasi said this about him in his application:

“Ryan is a hard working, determined individual. He pushes to not only complete, but succeed in any endeavor he encounters. Ryan is polite and well mannered both in and out of the classroom. He carries himself professionally and works diligently to overcome challenges that come his way. I recommend Ryan for this scholarship because I believe he would truly utilize it to the fullest. He wouldn’t take lightly being awarded money toward college; instead he would use that as more motivation to press on and reach new goals of a college education.”

Infinity CEO Chuck Brown said, “Ryan McKenna’s passion to learn more about technology and cyber security was clearly evident in his scholarship application. We hope that this scholarship will allow Ryan to continue to excel in his education.”

Watch Ryan’s application video below and see for yourself: