By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—Pelham High School class of 2014 graduate and Alabama A&M University freshman LaTrinity Lewis was presented with the Pelham Library Guild’s Kathryn Jenkins Memorial Scholarship at the Pelham Library on Aug. 12.

“LaTrinity is definitely a young lady that Pelham can be proud of,” Pelham Library Guild President Debbie Parrott said. “It was quite a pleasure to see the support of her mother here today.”

The scholarship is named in honor of Pelham City Councilman Maurice Mercer’s mother, Kathryn Jenkins, who passed away in November 2013 after battling rare autoimmune rheumatic disease, scleroderma.

“My mother was very well educated,” Mercer said, noting Jenkins’ masters degree from Columbia University and career in nursing at UAB. “To have a scholarship named in my mother’s honor… words cannot explain how much it means to my family and myself.”

Lewis was selected for the $500 scholarship after an extensive interview process, including an essay about her vision for the future of Pelham Public Library and a face-to-face interview with members of the Library Guild.

“I’m at a loss for words. I’m so excited and I’m so blessed,” Lewis said. “I just feel so honored to be receiving a scholarship in memory of someone’s mother, because I don’t know what I’d do without my parents in my life.”

Lewis hopes to pursue a career in forensic psychology and plans to double major in psychology and social work at Alabama A&M University.

“She’s giving of herself to help others… I can see some of my mother’s tenacity and drive in her,” Mercer said of Lewis, noting her “willingness to learn, to drive and push for success.”

“Presenting the scholarship in the name of Maurice’s mother is very appropriate in that LaTrinity has aspirations to achieve some of the same things as Kathryn Jenkins did,” Parrott said

The Pelham Public Library was an important part of Lewis’ life in Pelham, she said.

“The library was a getaway,” Lewis said. “I can come here and be in peace study, learn and enjoy a good book.”

“Offering a scholarship furthers the Library’s importance in the 21st century,” Mercer said. “We’re looking forward to what LaTrinity does.”