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Thomas receives $150 developmental disabilities career awareness award from Bethesda

061011/08

Each year, Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc., gives out a number of awards and scholarships to deserving Lutheran students who are interested in pursuing an education in the field of developmental disabilities services.

Bethesda is pleased to award Samantha Thomas of Georgetown, Texas, with a $150 Developmental Disabilities Career Awareness Award for high school students. To be eligible for this award, students must be a junior or senior in high school and have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Thomas had to complete a minimum of 25 hours of community service and/or church volunteer to benefit people who have developmental disabilities. She also had to interview two individuals in the developmental disability profession and submit a 100-word summary for each of the interviews.

Thomas, who graduated from Georgetown High School in May, served as a Helping Hands tutor for younger children for two years; was a 13-year member of The Girls Scouts of America in which she received both gold and silver awards; was a volunteer event publicist for the Texas Special Olympics throughout her high school career; and was a team captain in the Relay for Life her junior and senior years.

In addition, Thomas, an active member of Christ Lutheran Church in Georgetown, was a volunteer with R.O.C.K., Ride on Center for Kids, since 2002. R.O.C.K. is an accredited center of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), providing safe, affordable, therapeutic riding, and related educational programs to individuals with disabilities to develop physical, emotional, social and educational skills, as well as self esteem.

Thomas was involved as a horse handler and as a teen volunteer leader. Over her four years of volunteering, she gave over 400 hours of her time to R.O.C.K., and was included as part of the volunteer staff that took 14 disabled students to the Top Hands Horse Show in Houston.

Currently, Thomas has begun classes at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas, where she is pursuing a degree in early education, with plans to become a certified inclusion teacher.

Now in its second century of service, Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc. provides services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities throughout the country and throughout the world. It is Bethesda’s mission to support the needs of the individual—both physical and spiritual—and as a result, Bethesda offers many different types of services for the individual and their family, including a variety of residential facilities, supported-living programs, outreach services and secular training workshops. For more information on Bethesda’s services and support programs, call the public relations office at 800.369.4636, ext. 3817, or email: pr@blhs.org.