The 2024 Vincent J. Dooley Scholarship winners were announced at the Athletes for a Better World (ABW) Awards ceremony, which was held at North Atlanta High School on May 4th, 2024. The female winner was Mary Rozier of Eagles Landing High School and this year we had two male winners, Nathan Hayes from Effingham County High School and Jayden Daniel from the Gatewood School. Each winner will receive a four-year scholarship of $1000 per year and a $500 donation to the charitable organization of their choice. Honored guests included Barbara Dooley, wife of the late Vincent Dooley, Dr. Robin Hines, Executive Director of the Georgia High School Association, Tommy Marshall, Commissioner of the Georgia Independent Athletic Association, and Tony Barnhart, former sportswriter, and broadcaster for the AJC, ESPN, CBS, and the SEC Network. Heather Catlin, the former WSB TV anchor, served as our Emcee. Barbara Dooley encouraged the student-athletes to “keep their eyes on the most they can do in life.” She said, “She wasn’t worried about the next century with these kids running it.”
Our female scholarship recipient, Mary Rozier achieved a a 4.54 GPA with all A’s and has had perfect attendance since kindergarten. She is a Track & Field 3-time HS All-American and is ranked #1 in the US and Georgia for the Women’s Long Jump. She was named to the All-County swim team and was an All-County Swim champion. She was selected as a WellStar Wellness Ambassador, where she spoke to elementary school students about the importance of good sportsmanship and academic excellence. She was elected as her class president every year since the sixth grade. She won the National Presidential Gold Award for her ongoing Community Service efforts and was the first youth to earn the “Heroine Award” from the organization “100 Black Women of Metro Atlanta.” She served as the National Leadership representative for the Jr Beta Club. She also chartered the first Jr. National Society of Black Engineers in her County. She will attend the University of Pennsylvania and wants to become a biomedical engineer.
Our first male scholarship recipient Jayden Daniel achieved a 3.75 GPA and is dually enrolled at his High School and a local State College. He was a 3-sport athlete in football, soccer, and track and field, All-Region in each of his three sports, and was Captain of his soccer team. Took multiple AP classes and won a Merit award in History. School Activities included Young Life Anchor Service Club and was voted Most Likely to Succeed in his Senior class. He also was a Heisman High School Scholarship Winner. He was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. Congress. He also received a Commendation from Governor Kemp for servant leadership and community service. Jayden has become an outstanding leader in his community. He founded and runs the “Lake Area Baskets of Hope Project”, giving away over 1,600 Easter baskets to youths in foster care. He volunteered and helped raise money to support the Thillen Education Foundation. He is a member of the Junior Board of Directors of a Bank. He raised money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and volunteered for the Second Harvest Food Distribution project. He has laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery and is also an Eagle Scout. His career interests include cybersecurity, finance, and continuing his passion for aviation, as he is also a helicopter pilot, and owns his own driveway-cleaning business.
Our second Male scholarship recipient achieved a 4.0 GPA and ranked 1st in his class of 444 students. He took multiple AP courses and was President of his Class for all four years of High School. He played Football, Basketball, and Baseball and won many awards including Offensive Player of the Year as the starting QB, National HS Heisman finalist, and Coca-Cola Scholars Program Finalist. UGA Certificate of Merit and was a Wofford Scholar. At a National Beta Club Conference, he won 1st place in Performing Arts and Public Speaking. Some of his volunteer work included Operation Christmas Child, Paws for Cause, and traveling to elementary schools to read books to kids and middle school to tutor students in math. He participated in Cure fundraisers to support childhood cancer research. He led care package drives for the homeless, blanket drives for local nursing homes, and ran 5K marathons to raise money for students with disabilities. He created a food pantry at his church called “Five Loaves and 2 Fish” and learned how to make Linus blankets by hand and deliver them to a local Hospital Pediatric Unit in Savannah. He completed an internship with 2 orthopedic surgeons at an Orthopedics Medical Center. He also worked as a Data Technician at the local County Hospital. He attended the National Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Massachusetts. He will attend Georgia Tech on a full Stamps Presidential Scholarship. Nathan plans to major in Biomedical Engineering.
A photo gallery of the Dooley Awards ceremony can be found at: www.thestudiosofalexander.com/projects-7.
