Lawnside Scholarship Club Salutes the Class of 2023

Jasmine Walker Motupalli, 2006 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told graduating high school seniors from Lawnside, New Jersey, it is better to choose the harder right than the easier wrong.

She was the keynote speaker at the Lawnside Scholarship Club’s 2023 Salute to Graduating Seniors on June 3, which can be viewed on the Club’s YouTube channel here:

This is the 78th anniversary of the Club and the 48th special event honoring graduating seniors.

Mrs. Walker Motupalli is a retired U.S. Army major with citations for her service in Iraq and Afghanistan. She entered West Point in 2002 after graduating from Haddon Heights High School with the highest average among Lawnside students. She was commissioned as a lieutenant after graduating from the academy. Soon after, she served in intelligence and commanded as many as 500 soldiers in combat when women were a rarity.

As an example, she recounted leading her troops out of a firefight through a chest-high sewage creek as the tactically sound way to go.

After suffering a brain injury from a blast and contending with post-traumatic stress disorder, she recalled achieving her lowest grade point average ever in graduate school. She advised the seniors, “Give yourself grace in the really hard moments.”

This year, the Club presented $17,100 in Club and Community Awards. The following recipients were announced at the event.

Lawnside Scholarship Club Award Recipients
Highest Average – Zuri Al-Uqdah, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Her other awards are Edna Jay Sports Award, Masjid Freehaven Model Citizen, Walter A. Gaines Natural Science, Dr. Flora Young Social Science, Madge Mitchell Math, Dr. & Mrs. Cecil Still and Steven Israel Sports. She will attend Howard University as a Pre-Med major.

Second Highest Average – Nicole Garcia, Camden County Technical School, Pennsauken Campus. Her other awards are Curtis & Lula Moss Memorial, Steven Israel Unsung Hero and Sonia Farmer Character. She will attend Stockton University to pursue a nursing degree.

Third Highest Average – Bengalie Kanu, Haddon Heights High School. His other awards include Helen Mae Henderson Nursing, Dr. William Young Health Services and Linese Miller Leadership. He will attend Rutgers University, New Brunswick, to pursue nursing or medicine.

Fourth Highest Average – Dylan Pasley, Haddon Heights High School.

Zuri Al-Uqdah, Nicole Garcia and Bengalie Kanu also received the Elizabeth Jones Academic Excellence Award for G.P.A.s above 93.

Community Award Recipients
Dwight and Yvonne Anderson Award – Karima Davis, Woodbury Junior Senior High School and Hanif Qadar, Camden County Technical School
Bryson C. Armstead Award –Todlena Jackson, Haddon Heights High School
Bertha Cobia Award – Allure Tindley, Haddon Heights High School
Lawnside PTA Awards for Unsung Heroes – Jayson Brown, Haddon Heights High School and Saliyah Thurman, Haddon Heights High School
Edna Harper Service Award – Todlena Jackson, Haddon Heights High School
Henry Long Memorial Award – Hanif Qadar, Camden County Technical School
Raymond G. Davis, Jr. Memorial Award – Jayson Brown, Haddon Heights High School
I.R. & Anna J. Bryant Award – Allure Tindley, Haddon Heights High School
Leon N. Williams Law Award – Rashad Ellis, Haddon Heights High School
Amos & Roxie Rogers Award – Saliyah Thurman, Haddon Heights High School
Dorothea Carter Memorial Award – Ciarah Lewis, Haddon Heights High School
Thomas A. Whitaker Award for Mechanical Advancement – Hanif Qadar, Camden County Technical School
Rick Williams Health Services Award – Karima Davis, Woodbury Junior Senior High School
Ephraim J. & Mary C. Still Award – Todlena Jackson, Haddon Heights High School

The Club also offers book awards to students who submit requests with the proper documentation.