The Junior League of Springfield (JLS) is pleased to announce the winners of the “Building Better Communities” scholarship, awarded for the 2019 school year. The scholarship is in its fourth year and has awarded a total of $7,000 to non-traditional female students participating in a program eligible to receive a degree or license upon graduation. The latest recipients are Larra KeethAlford and Chelsie Wilburn. Each recipient received $500.

Larra KeethAlford is currently attending MSU and working towards her Bachelor’s in Social Work with a minor in Psychology. She plans to be finished in May 2020. She started at OTC in 2012. Along with raising a family of five, Ms. KeethAlford works at the ARC of the Ozarks and volunteers with the Social Work Club.

Chelsie is a 2004 graduate of Nixa High School and is currently attending OTC. She will receive an Associates of Arts in Behavioral Sciences degree in Fall of 2020. She then plans to transfer to Drury.  She is currently a substitute teacher as well as the children’s pastor at Crosspoint Fellowship in Republic. Ms. Wilburn also volunteers at the Community Kitchen in Republic. Her scholarship is going to cover her tuition for the spring semester.

“As an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism and improving the community through effective action and leadership, we are so proud that our organization has the opportunity to support these deserving women in their educational endeavors,” says JLS President, Tammy Dixon.