When Katherine Drewry started school as a freshman at Caledonia High School, she didn’t speak English at all.
After spending seven years in an orphanage in Colombia, she was adopted at age 14 by Laura and Kevin Drewry and began her American education in Lowndes County.
“I can honestly say that coming to America not only provided me with a wonderful family but also the opportunity to receive a good education and a better life,” Katherine wrote in an essay to the Exchange Club of Columbus. “I am extremely excited about my life and the future in front of me. America is definitely the land of opportunities.”
On Thursday at Lion Hills Center, Katherine Drewry was chosen as the recipient of the Exchange Club’s Accepting the Challenge of Excellence award, which is given to a high school student who has “made a dramatic change in their attitude and performance during their high school years” in order to overcome adversity.
Katherine’s English as a Second Language teacher helped her tremendously throughout the years, she wrote. The help she received inspired Katherine to do the same, and she intends to continue her education after high school to become a dental hygienist.
Kevin Drewry said the community support has been instrumental in helping Katherine, even before she made it to the U.S.
“There’s been a whole village of people that have come on to help with everything from the adoption process, to bringing Katherine to America, to teachers and everyone who has been alongside us,” Kevin Drewry said. “I feel a sense of gratefulness to many people who’ve helped us, and I’m very proud to see (Katherine) graduate high school. I’m excited to see her next steps through college, and I know she’ll be someone who makes the most of it.”
There were four other candidates for the ACE Award: Miriam Madan from Heritage Academy, Nathan George at Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Lexie Sonak from New Hope High School and Elijah Johnson from West Lowndes High School.
Madan lost her mother when she was younger and looked at God as a way to honor her mother. When Madan was in a four-wheeler accident on Christmas Eve in 2021, she said the wreck opened her eyes to realize the way she had been living was not pleasing God and changed her life around.
George received the 2022 Ephemera Prize at the 34th annual Welty Writers’ Symposium for his narrative on growing up a queer kid in Mississippi then losing his mother just weeks before he started school at MSMS. He said he holds no resentment toward those who bullied him because they taught him the importance of ensuring those around him feel accepted and safe, and one day he hopes to create a safe space for diversity in his future place of employment.
Sonak landed at NHHS in 2017 after never spending more than a year at a school to a steady life once she moved in with her older sister because her mother became addicted to drugs. She said as someone who was very shy, being a part of athletics has helped her break out of that shell and now being one of the older girls, she can be a leader for others.
Johnson lost both of his parents and had many sleepless nights when he wondered how he could go on without the both of them. Now he understands death is a part of life and continues to honor them in his life. In February, Johnson signed to play football at East Central Community College, and he eventually wants to play in the National Football League so he can give back to the community who helped him in his darkest time.
Youth of the Year
With four candidates for Youth of the Year, Ella Sylvest from New Hope High stood out most to the members of Exchange Club.
The Youth of the Year award is given to “hard-working high school students who attain high levels of scholastic achievement, community involvement and leadership.” The candidates must write an essay, and this year’s prompt was to share a story about someone who has impacted the student’s life and others.
Sylvest, the NHHS tennis team captain, chose Kelsi Bankston as the person who impacted her life the most. Bankston, a teacher at NHHS, was never Sylvest’s classroom teacher but has known her for seven years.
“She has shown me what it looks like to actively serve and love others the way that Jesus has, which has led to many of the service projects and opportunities in which I have been involved in,” Sylvest wrote in her essay. “… My prayer is that I too will become this great of a mentor to a young girl and that the cycle will continue so that others in our community will be positively impacted in the same way that I have been.”
The three other candidates for the Youth of the Year award were Taylor Fletcher from Caledonia High School, Allison Porter from Heritage Academy, Lauren Varner from MSMS and Kayla Bell from West Lowndes High School.
As a representative of their schools, all eight candidates received $100 from Exchange Club, and the ACE of the Year and Youth of the Year recipients were awarded an additional $250. Drewry and Sylvest have the opportunity to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the National Exchange Club.
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