Karen Minner Scholarship

04/17/2021

Congratulations to Joshua Roberts, winner of the 2021-2022 Karen Minner Scholarship Award!

05/22/2018

We are pleased to announce that Curtis Morris is the recipient of the Karen Minner Scholarship Award for the 2018-2019 school year! Curtis will be a senior next year, and we are so excited to get to know him! Please stay tuned for an upcoming profile of our new recipient. And thank you to all our donors for your support of the scholarship and of HVA!

05/08/2017

Congratulations to Kyra Wirsz, the recipient of the 2017-2018 Karen Minner Scholarship! Kyra was presented with the award this weekend at HVA's Alumni Weekend by Stephen Herr, long-time friend of the Minner family. Stay tuned for more information about Kyra!

09/12/2016

For Karen
by Jennifer Payne

(The sestina is a poetic form which dictates that the same 6 words must be used to end the lines in 6 stanzas, in varying order, followed by a tercet. I wrote this for a poetry class I took several years ago.)

Sestina for A Life

My earliest memory, the eleventh of September:
metal wires crisscrossed through glass as I vaguely comprehend a baby
through the nursery door--my best friend was born.
I thought--how little, how crinkly! I hear her cry;
How many games, how many homes, how many years
have passed since that first glimpse of my sister.

It means so much to have a sister:
the crunching and crackling leaves of each September
afternoon we walked home together through our elementary years,
twice more visiting the hospital to see a new baby
enter our family, to hear its mewing newborn cry.
Through whispered secrets and spying games a rapport was born.

Four girls: we were Mary, Laura, Carrie, then little Grace was born--
a ready-made prairie family, led by the seeing sister
who bossed and taught and faked the Indians' cry,
but then Mary and Laura went back to school each September
leaving the others to play with their baby
dolls, grasping, catching up, filling in the years.

Through quickening steps and lengthening years
a maturely thoughtful and slim beauty was born
out of the chubby, smiling, ready-to-please baby
who had grown to a laughing, learning partner, friend: my sister.
And one autumn, full of faith and fear, under the golden September
moon, a life of mission beckoned, and she tried not to cry.

The lazy tropical waters of the South Pacific separated us; she called me to cry.
It was hot; it was lonely; it felt it had been years
since she'd tasted real milk, or felt the cool September
breeze. She nearly came home; the distance couldn't be borne.
My advisor, my accomplice, little Laura, my sister.
How could I help remembering her as the defenseless baby?

In 2001 she moved nearby: a new school, a new car, a new baby
kitten. But while buildings were falling, I held her hands as a cry
of pain escaped the parched, blue, mask-smothered lips of my sister
whose twenty four friend-packed and God-fearing years
were too full of life, phone calls, and clamoring students to be borne
by a frail body infected by the malignant air of that shared September.

I cry for Password games that won’t be won, the years
of birthday cakes that won’t be eaten, Minners who won’t be born,
the Aaron Neville songs that won’t be sung; for it was my sister's last September.

09/11/2016

September 11, 2001 was Karen's 24th birthday, and her last. She spent the day teaching at Beltsville SDA School in Maryland, probably trying to stay calm and keep students calm in a world that seemed to be going crazy. We met her for supper at Olive Garden in Frederick. It was not a normal birthday. We talked about how strange it was to not see any airplanes in the sky, usually very busy with air traffic going to Dulles. We talked about the tragedy of that morning and fear and what would happen next. None of us could have known that it would be her last birthday. She died on November 8, less than two months later. It has been 15 long but short years since her last birthday. But we are looking forward to her next celebration, in heaven. Thank you all for supporting this scholarship in her memory, and honoring her love of Christian education. We will be launching a new website soon, so stay tuned for updates about that. In the meantime, you can read further to get to know our most recent scholarship recipient better. E'en so Lord Jesus, quickly come.

On May 7, 2016, Johnah Gabrielle Hrabowy was awarded the Karen Minner Scholarship at the HVA Alumni weekend. Johnah is a member of the class of 2017 and will be the Student Association Vice President for the coming school year. She is described as "sweet, smart, and a hard worker." She came to HVA as a junior after her previous school, Mount Vernon Academy in Ohio, closed last year. HVA welcomed her with open arms.

Here is Johnah's story in her own words:

My full name is Johnah Gabrielle Hrabowy, and I am number three of four kids to Sandra and Harold Hrabowy. The oldest is my sister Hope, then comes my brother Amani, and then there is me, and the youngest is my little brother Dakota. We live in Liberty, Ohio, which close to Youngstown, where both of my parents work. My Mom is an electrician at General Motors and my Dad is head of maintenance at a company named Roemer and he’s self employed. My little brother and I have always lived there at the same house in Liberty, but my parents moved there from another suburb named Austintown when they had just had Amani. All of us except Hope were actually born at home. Dakota and I in the same bathtub in fact, imagine that! I started at Liberty public school when I was 5 and grew up with the same exact kids in my class until 8th grade. And then, I was sent to Mount Vernon Academy for high school. Both of my older siblings had spent their high school years there, and I was so glad that I finally could too. However, after finishing out my freshman and sophomore year there, we were given terrible news: the school would be shutting down due to financial issues. All of the other enrolled students and I were so upset and disappointed. I honestly didn't know where I was going to go for the rest of high school, and I really didn't want to go back to public school. I visited a handful of schools and got offers to attend others, and in the end I had chosen to go to Thunderbird Academy. I was so excited that I was going to go to a school in Phoenix, Arizona! About halfway through my summer though I found out that a big chunk of my friends were going to attend Highland View Academy, one of the schools that I had visited. So I spent a lot of time asking God were I should go and considering my options for my junior year. And in the end God pulled through and placed me here at Highland View Academy, which I am so thankful for because I’ve met the most amazing people!

Some of my personal interests include reading books (my favorite would be Tuesdays with Morrie), traveling to see new places, catching up on my favorite TV shows, and listening to music. I really love music; I listen to nearly everything. I’m a big country fan and oldies fan. I could listen to the Beatles, Elvis Presley, or Little Richie all day. I really love traveling too, I can’t go very far because I’m not entirely in charge of my life yet but I really loved Sedona in Arizona, and Niagara Falls on both sides.

At school, I'm involved in a little bit of everything. I’m SA Vice President for this year (my senior year) at HVA and also Head RA in the girls dorm here. I'm involved in Bells and Highlanders too. But my favorite activity that I am involved in here is gymnastics. I’m a part of the gymnastics team and have been in high school since I was a freshman. But before that, I was taking gymnastics classes at a facility. I have yet to be on a mission trip but hopefully if plans go through, this year's senior class trip will be a mission trip and it will be my first. So I'm really excited for that. Right now I’m looking deeply into becoming a Mechanical Engineer and have been for a while because I really like math. Finally, I play the harp; I’m a very outgoing person, sometimes maybe a little too much; and I love Jesus!

Vida L Welch Laurie Redmer Minner Megan Minner Rook Katie Minner Partlo Jason Payne Justin Partlo

07/22/2016

Announcing the 2016-2017 Karen Minner Scholarship Recipient

On May 7, 2016, Johnah Gabrielle Hrabowy was awarded the Karen Minner Scholarship at the HVA Alumni weekend. Johnah is a member of the class of 2017 and will be the Student Association Vice President for the coming school year. She is described as "sweet, smart, and a hard worker." She came to HVA as a junior after her previous school, Mount Vernon Academy in Ohio, closed last year. HVA welcomed her with open arms.

Scholarship presenter Jennifer Payne also recognized the HVA Class of 1996 on their 20th reunion. Several members of Karen's class have been faithful supporters of and contributors to the scholarship fund. Thank you to all who continue to support students like Johnah!

03/30/2016

2015-2016 Karen Minner Scholarship Recipient

In May 2015, Matthew Rada was awarded the Karen Minner Scholarship at the Highland View Academy Alumni weekend. He was presented with the award by Charles Mills, a relative of the Minner family. Matthew was chosen by the HVA faculty to receive this award because he has been a positive addition to the campus and a great example of Jesus. This can especially be seen in his involvement in events like the 30-hour Famine, an event sponsored by WorldVision to raise money and awareness about hunger in the world. Matthew is a senior and has been heavily involved on campus since he arrived at HVA in 2012. He shares his musical talents in Highlanders, Band, and the Strings group. He loves strings, and would like to play in an orchestra some day. He also enjoyed the Brazil mission trip with the Highlanders group. Matthew loves to travel; he was born in the Philippines and enjoyed visiting that country again in the summer of 2015.

Matthew lives in Beltsville, Maryland with his parents and younger sister. He attended Sligo Adventist School and then Beltsville Adventist School, where he graduated from the 8th grade.

Matthew is not exactly sure what degree he will pursue in college, but he is interested in the medical field, particularly in physical therapy or biotechnology. Ultimately, he says he will end up wherever God calls him. Amanda Corea, HVA Assistant Registrar, says that he is "honest, super nice to everyone, responsible, and funny." We are so glad that Matthew has received this scholarship and believe that he is a true representation of the quality in character that the award is meant to validate.

03/14/2015

Here is another update from a fantastic scholarship recipient. Happy Sabbath!

Khelsea Bauer: Karen Miner Scholarship Recipient 2010-2011

After graduating from Highland View Academy in 2011, Khelsea began pursuing a double major in International Business and Spanish at Andrews University. Khelsea thoroughly enjoyed her collegiate experience taking time to play the violin in the AU Orchestra, keeping active swimming and playing racquetball, and participating in leadership positions with both the J.N. Andrews Honors Program and the SBA Student Advisory Council. She spent a year studying abroad at the Universidad Adventista Del Plata in Entre Rios, Argentina where some of her favorite memories include traveling the country, making new friends, and of course learning Spanish. After interning at Florida Hospital this past summer as the Business Development Coordinator with the Health Performance Strategies team, Khelsea determined that the sunshine state was a good place to begin her professional career. After graduating in May, she will move to Florida where she has accepted a three year General Management Residency with Adventist Health Systems. As part of the Residency program she will complete her MBA and enjoy the warm sunshine of Orlando. Khelsea is proud to be a Karen Minner Scholar and hopes to carry Karen’s legacy of commitment and caring wherever she goes serving the Lord.

02/28/2015

Another update from a former scholarship recipient, Damaris Odhiambo. She is such an impressive individual, and is in great company in such an outstanding group of recipients!

In 2008, Damaris graduated from Highland View Academy and completed her undergraduate degree in Nursing at Oakwood University (OU) in 2013. While at OU, Damaris played soccer for the OU Women's Soccer team for four years and also worked as a Anatomy & Physiology Lab assistant. During her tenure at OU, Damaris was also accepted to the MHIRT (Minority Health International Research Training) Program where she conducted anthropological public health research in Pallisa, Uganda. Damaris is now completing a Masters in Medical Anthropology at Creighton University. She is currently working on her masters thesis that seeks to examine the effects of culture in preventative health behavior among resettled refugees in Omaha, Nebraska. Damaris currently works as a registered nurse and as a Minority Health HIV/AIDS Program Specialist for a refugee resettlement agency. Damaris hopes to begin a DNP (doctor in nursing practice) program in the fall.

02/27/2015

I have been receiving updates from former Karen Minner Scholarship recipients, so that if you are interested you can see what they are up to now. We have a wide variety of interests and talents in this special group. Here is the update from Kylynda Bauer, Karen Minner Scholarship Recipient for 2008-2009.

In 2009, Kylynda graduated from Highland View Academy and began undergraduate studies at Andrews University (AU). While at AU, Kylynda played the viola in the AU Orchestra and the Sanctuary Strings quartet. In addition, she worked as a radio announcer at WAUS 90.7 FM, the university’s classical radio station. She recently gave her senior piano recital and performed as part of the Second Sunday Concert Series collaboratively sponsored by WAUS 90.7 FM and the Howard Performing Arts Center. In addition to musical pursuits, Kylynda has also been involved with biological research. During undergrad, Kylynda worked in laboratories at Andrews University, Walla Walla University, Harvard University, and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Her senior honors thesis examined the impact of antibiotics and diet on microbial communities along the digestive tract. She graduated from AU this December with a BA in Music, BS in Biology, and chemistry minor. In 2015, Kylynda accepted an offer to pursue a PhD in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia. She plans to examine the impact of gut microbes on brain development and human behavior.

Kyly says, "I am very honored to have received the Karen Minner Scholarship. Although I never met Karen, the legacy of her missionary spirit, courage, and kindness inspires me. I look forward to meeting her in heaven."

02/26/2015