Below are the winners of the 2019 AUI Trustee Scholarship competition conducted by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. These students will each receive an award of $3,500 per year to aid in defraying expenses at the college or university of their choice.
Chloe Hellerman
Chloe Hellerman will graduate as valedictorian from Nelson County High School in Lovingston, VA, where she holds a 5.07 GPA. In addition to rigorous academics, Chloe has pursued her passion for traditional Irish dance and music at the Blue Ridge Irish Music School where she currently teaches. She has performed Irish dance throughout Virginia with a variety of well-known Irish performers.
Her passion for science and math has led Chloe to pursue honors, AP, and dual enrollment courses. Additionally, she has received college credits through her participation in NASA online courses and summer academy programs at Wallops Flight Facility and Langley Research Center. As National Honor Society president, Chloe has organized a high school club expo for rising freshman in an effort to increase student involvement in high school club participation. Additionally, she has assisted with an Hour of Code for middle schooler’s, demonstrated percussive dance to world drumming classes, and led an extensive renovation of an existing NCHS library space to create a collaborative study space for students and teachers. She has also used her artistic skill to build a strong portfolio of paintings, drawings, and murals.
In the fall, Chloe will pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia as an A. James Clark Scholar. She hopes to blend her passion for science, art, and entrepreneurship into a meaningful career.
Chloe is the daughter of Jeff and Leslie Hellerman. Jeff is a member of the NRAO Education and Public Outreach team in Charlottesville.
Bryce Loveland
Bryce is a senior at Socorro High School where he will graduate after only three years. He has been taking courses at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology since he was 14. He currently has a 3.92 GPA at New Mexico Tech, and he will have completed 49 credits by the end of the semester.
Bryce has been a flutist since the fourth grade when he started with Dr. Comstock’s band at Cottonwood Valley Charter School. He was twice selected to perform in the NM Music Educators Association All-State Concert Band. He was on the NMMEA Central District honor band every year he was eligible and this year he was the first-chair flute. Bryce also performed with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program starting off in the Junior Symphony and advancing to the Youth Orchestra. Despite his heavy course schedule he still plays with Socorro area ensembles. He has also been a member of the Socorro High School Science Olympiad Team since his freshman year.
Bryce will attend NM Tech in the fall and plans to do a dual major in Biomedical Sciences and Computer Science. His future plans involve lots of computer gaming with possibly enough study time on the side to graduate from NM Tech and make it into medical school.
Bryce is the son of Jim Jacobs and Susan Loveland in Socorro, New Mexico.
Ellie RansCom
Ellie is a senior at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has taken many AP and dual enrollment classes, and is graduating with an advanced diploma and a 4.6 GPA. She is a part of the National, Math, Spanish, and Thespian Honor Societies, as well as Beta Club at her school. Ellie will be attending the College of William and Mary this fall. She is going in undecided but hopes to study Spanish either as a double-major or minor.
Outside of her classes, Ellie has been greatly involved in the AHS Drama Department for the past 4 years, with roles ranging from assistant directing, production staff, acting, and crews. She is also an officer for the Thespian Honor Society. In addition to her leadership roles in theater, Ellie has also worked as a gymnastics instructor at The Little Gym for almost 3 years, and is very dedicated to activities with her youth group at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian-Universalist. She is also a Girl Scout, and is in the final stages of completing her Gold Award, for which she made a documentary about transgender youth.
Ellie is the daughter of Scott Ransom and Karen Prairie, who both work at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Scott is an Astronomer with Tenure and has been at NRAO since 2004, and Karen is the Observatory’s Meeting Planner and has been there since 2011.
Conor Shillue
Conor is a senior at Tandem Friends High School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He will be attending University of Virginia college of Arts and Sciences in the Fall, with interests in computer science and statistics.
At Tandem, he was a strong student, with a 4.2 GPA, many AP classes, and was the recipient of the Math achievement award. He participated in several sports: basketball, track, lacrosse, and in soccer he was team captain and All-Conference his senior year.
He was a member of the Friend’s Council and Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, and is the child care provider for Charlottesville Friends Meeting.
He was the School Treasurer for his junior and senior year. He was also an active participant in theater and performance arts, with vocal solo leads in musical productions, and played the saxophone in the school jazz band.
Conor is the son of Elizabeth and William Shillue. William is a research engineer at NRAO Central Development Laboratory.