This past April, Haley Bartoletta was named the 2021-22 recipient of the Baxter-Bryan Scholarship, Brenau University’s highest academic honor.

The mass communication major from Jefferson, Georgia, was among five students from The Women’s College of Brenau University who were nominated for the award. The scholarship, which covers tuition, room and board for the student’s senior year, has been awarded for 32 years. It was established by Joe W. Baxter, who named the scholarship for his sister, Carfax Baxter, and friend, Morris Bryan Jr.

Bartoletta says she was honored to be at Brenau and have her hard work recognized.

“I work hard in all my classes, and I love the Brenau community,” she says. “I feel like I portray that every day. It’s one of those things when you’re actually recognized for it, it’s like, wow, somebody else notices that, too.”

Daphne Ramirez, biology major from Covington, Georgia, was the Baxter-Bryan runner-up and winner of the Sidney O. Smith Scholarship. The scholarship is named after the former Brenau trustee and U.S. district judge. Smith was the fourth generation of his family to serve on the leadership board of the institution and remained an active member until his death in 2012. Brenau’s graduate school is also named in his honor.

Other Baxter-Bryan finalists, who received Provost Scholarships, included Annabelle Lee, finance major from Suwanee, Georgia; Emily Ashmead, theatre major from Duluth, Georgia; and Rebecca McDaniel, middle grades education major from Leesburg, Georgia.