Gordon & Doner Community Relations Director Christina D’Elosua, scholarship recipient Carlos Thal, Martin County High School teacher Patricia Beondé and Florida Kiwanis Lt. Governor Joyce Taylor

The law firm of Gordon & Doner has announced the winners of its scholarship contest, which provides four years of tuition to four local high-school seniors based on their ability to maintain integrity and overcome adversity.

“This scholarship is unique because grade point average is not a factor,” said Robert Gordon, founding partner of the firm. “Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of students who may not be able to attend college without our help. We appreciate the opportunity to help these four high-school seniors with integrity to further their education.”

The winners are Carlos Thal, Lucy Miller, Shanda Jean Baptiste and Carolina Echeverri. A committee of Gordon & Doner employees and representatives from area Kiwanis Clubs chose the students from among 100 applicants from Palm Beach, Broward, Martin and St. Lucie counties. Each student submitted essays and letters of recommendation.

Thal attended Martin County High School and will be the first person in his family to graduate. Thal struggled academically in the first two years of high school as he worked to learn English after arriving from Haiti in 2007.

In his essays, Thal wrote of his tribulations in balancing his school work with helping his mother care for his 12 younger siblings.

“I can’t neglect my studies if I want to realize my dreams of becoming a doctor,” Thal wrote.

Thal plans to attend Indian River State College so he can stay near his family and continue to help his mother and his siblings.

Lucy Miller, a Royal Palm Beach resident, graduated from Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Miller’s violin instructor, Suzanne Walter-Geissler, recommended the student.

“She is a young woman of great character who is hard working, consistent, intelligent, articulate and most generous,” Walter-Geissler said.

Miller’s hardships included caring for her mother as she battled a rare and invasive cancer that created financial hardship for the family.

Miller plans to attend the University of Florida.

Shanda Jean Baptiste, a resident of Lauderhill, ranked seventh in her class at Blanche Ely High School and has worked at a retirement home for more than two years to support her family. Baptiste’s mother was working two jobs to support her two children; that changed one night when Baptiste’s mother collapsed.

“She cannot get a job due to all of her medical problems, so that leaves me,” Baptiste wrote.

She plans to attend the University of Miami.

Cooper City High School graduate Carolina Echeverri plans to attend Florida State University. Echeverri logged more than 1,000 service hours, many from her involvement in the Key Club. Her dedication and leadership skills led her to be unanimously elected Key Club president in her junior year.

Selecting the four winners was a daunting task, Gordon said.

“It wasn’t easy to choose just four scholarship recipients from so many deserving applicants,” he said. “We would like to thank everyone in the community for their support and dedication to the scholarship program, especially the Kiwanis Club and school representatives who encouraged students to apply for this amazing opportunity.”

Edited by Amy Woods