Congratulations to the following 2025 graduates who were the recipients of this year's HEART Scholarships! We were able to award $1500 to each of these well-deserving students as they embark upon their journeys to becoming teachers.

GRACE BLEILER is a 2025 Centennial graduate who not only excels academically, but also
embodies the values of service, leadership, and resilience. She was a member of Best
Buddies Club for 4 years. She worked with ALS students and became a peer tutor,
where she assisted students in cooking activities and completing assignments. As a
volunteer at a Down Syndrome Conference, she worked with campers up to age 10 and
fell in love with that age group. That is where she decided that she wanted to study
special education and focus on early childhood education. She plans to study at St.
Joseph’s University.

SARAH CARLSON is a 2025 Mt. Hebron High School graduate, where she consistently
demonstrated academic excellence by achieving Principal’s Honor Roll or Honor Roll
each quarter. Her accomplishments include winning first place in the short story
category of the Howard County Young Author’s Contest and being named student of the
month three times. She was also selected as a member of the Howard County High
School’s GT Chorus. As a leader, Sarah established the Educators Rising organization
at Mt. Hebron High School and was selected as its president for two years. She has
also been very involved in her community by volunteer teaching in her church,
performing with a teen worship band as the lead singer and being a camp counselor.
Sarah explored the idea of becoming a teacher in more depth this past year where she
was employed as a paid apprentice, providing teacher support and classroom
instruction in a HCPSS elementary school. Sarah plans to attend Olivet Nazarene
University this fall where she will study secondary English education.

GRACE CHEN is a 2025 graduate of Marriotts Ridge High School. Inspired by a beloved
teacher during virtual learning in 8th grade, Grace plans to become an educator. She
became a teaching assistant at the Howard Community College StarTalk Program for
two years and tutored kids with autism. In the summer of 2023, she dedicated her time
as a paraeducator at Talbott Springs Elementary School to the HCPSS Title I Program.
Grace is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Rho
Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society. She won the Feng Yanjun Memorial
Award for Academic Excellence at the Howard County Chinese School in 2022. In
college, Grace plans to study psychology at the University of Maryland... she believes
psychology will help her understand students’ behaviors, as well as how they learn and
think, which will benefit her in her career in the field of education.

TABITHA DIXON is a 2025 Long Reach graduate who was an AP Scholar with Honors, on
the Distinguished Honor Roll, and Student of the Month. She participated in the Towson
Teacher Scholar Summer Institute. Not only excelling in classes, Tabitha is also an
outstanding volleyball player and recognized with a Varsity Athletic Award. She
demonstrated leadership by becoming president of The Scholars Leadership Honors
Program, Mu Alpha Theta (Math Club) and Class of 2025 representative on the LRHS
Student Council. The Executive Director of the Center for Creative Life and Learning
Inc., said, “Tabitha Dixon has been an outstanding participant in our Girls on Fire
Leadership Development Academy, showcasing remarkable leadership potential and
future promise.” Tabitha is inspired to become a teacher from a young age by the
teachers she had in school. She plans to study mathematics at Towson and teach in
Howard County when she completes her college education.

MORGAN GAITHER, a 2025 graduate of Marriotts Ridge High School, plans to become a
secondary education teacher with a concentration in social sciences. She shared that
she has a desire to teach because she wants to show students the futures that they can
create for themselves. Morgan is a member of the Thespian Honor Society and was the
Educators Rising Vice President in high school. She worked at Howard County
Recreation and Parks Before and After Care program, and her supervisor said that “she
arrives each day ready to give her all, offering not just supervision but meaningful
interactions that foster growth, confidence, and security in the children she works with”.
Morgan plans to attend Towson University in the fall.