BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR
New Saugatuck High School and home school graduates Cai Hesse and Lucy Alexander respectively have been awarded $1,000 Mill Pond Realty “Follow Your Dreams” scholarships based on essays written.
Hesse, daughter of Jeani and Doug Hesse of Saugatuck, plans to enroll as a Lee Honor Student in the Western Michigan University Haworth School of Business. She aspires to solve business problems locally and, as outcomes help other people, make the world a better place.
Adopted in second grade, Hesse said her experience working with Marriott Hotels and Evergreen Commons in Holland, the Allegan County Intermediate School District and Grand Valley State University taught her she must work hard for what she means to achieve and it’s OK to be yourself, not allowing others to determine how your life advances.
“I am very appreciative of Mrs. (Mill Pond owner and scholarship funder Laura Durham) for the money and opportunity,” Hesse said. “It means a lot to me.”
Alexander, home schooled in Douglas by her parents Ronna and Brian, both illustrator/designers, is the middle of three sisters. Older sibling Marlee studied printmaking at GVSU and now works at the Saugatuck-Douglas District Library; younger sister Olive, 14, also is being home schooled.
Lucy, who plans to study illustration at GVSU, said, “I made it clear in my essay I want to open my own business, also in illustration.” In fact she’s already started. Her toofuu studios works in photography and costume design, among other projects.
“I appreciate and am thrilled to win this scholarship,” she said. “I will use it for tuition and art supplies, which aren’t inexpensive.”
“We are seeking students,” said Mill Pond’s request for essays, “who show passion, heart and a vision to follow your dreams.
“I started in business at age 20 and opened my own hometown real estate company when I was 29,” said Durham. “It’s a privilege to recognize and help passionate, hardworking students pursue their own dreams of serving others.”