The Margaret Baker Foundation Board of Directors has announced the availability of scholarship assistance for men across the Commonwealth of Virginia who are currently or planning to continue their college, university, or other educational pursuits, studying in the areas of law enforcement or healthcare in the Roanoke Valley. The Foundation has awarded over $175,000 in scholarships since its inception and looks forward to providing ongoing financial support to students.
Newest board members of the foundation include Dr. Joe Blackstock, Dr. Nancy Dye and Camille Schrier, Miss America 2020 and Forever Miss Virginia. Other board members are Lori Gravely, Toni McLawhorn, Susan Simmons, Cameron Sumpter, and Carol Webster.
Margaret R. Baker was a formidable business force in Roanoke for more than 40 years. She dedicated decades of her life to providing scholarships for young people throughout the state of Virginia. She served as Executive Director of the Miss Virginia Scholarship Program for 20 years. During that time, two Miss Virginias earned the title of Miss America and others earned scholarships at the state and national levels. These scholarships enabled them to defray their educational expenses dramatically or eliminated their debt fully.
“Becoming Miss Virginia allowed me to advocate for my personal social impact initiative both state and nationwide. Because my cause of interest is related to my career, my time as Miss Virginia was like a paid internship. I earned scholarship funds to finish my education while gaining meaningful career experience, “says Camille Schrier, Miss America 2020 and Miss Virginia 2019. Camille graduated from Virginia Tech and is currently studying pharmacology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
In addition, the scholarships will be awarded at the inaugural event, “A Star Filled Evening,” on Sunday, October 1st, at the home of Doctors Kevin and Nancy Dye at Rockledge, on Mill Mountain. Highlighting the event will be Fox News Sunday Anchor, Shannon Bream, who also served as Miss Virginia 1990 and was a Top Ten Finalist at Miss America. This is an opportunity for Shannon to share her personal journey of faith and success, not only as a broadcaster, but also as an attorney and New York Times best-selling author.
For event information and how to apply for scholarships as well as the eligibility requirements, please visit:www.margaretbaker.org. The application deadline is September 1, 2023.