McInerney lands 2 big scholarships: MBHS graduate receives $56,000
Mountain Brook resident and recent Mountain Brook High School graduate Katelyn McInerney has received scholarships totaling $56,000. Mclnerney will receive $36,000 from the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards and will be receiving $20,000 from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.
“The scholarship enables me to pursue my vision in helping others and achieving academic success without concern for the financial burden,” Mclnerney said.
The Coca-Cola scholarship is given to graduating high school seniors by looking at their achievements and their commitment to impacting their schools and communities. The foundation awards 150 $20,000 scholarships each year and has provided over $69 million in educational support since its inception, according to the foundation’s website.
“The Coca-Cola Scholarship appeared in the list of most highly rated third party scholarships, so I thought I would give it a shot and apply,” Mclnerney said.
Mclnerney was one of 15 recipients of this year’s 13th Annual Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. According to the awards website, they “celebrate tikkun olam, or ‘repairing the world.’” The award is given out to strong Jewish leaders who have made an impact in their community and that have the potential to be leaders on a global scale.
Mclnerney has stayed busy during high school, working jobs and participating in extracurricular activities. She was the founder and president of the Sign Language club at MBHS, the Commissioner of Environmental Engineering at Alabama Girls State and has been a research assistant at UAB in Farah Lubin’s learning and memory neuroscience lab.
Mclnerney also participated in the Bronfman Fellowship, an all expenses paid, pluralistic Jewish fellowship program in Israel where she explored the religion, politics and culture of Judaism.
One of her biggest accomplishments, though, was her founding of a nonprofit organization called Special Siblings, a monthly support group for children who have siblings with special needs. She started it as she was working toward her Girl Scout Gold Award.
“In truth, it was my sister’s disability and the unique position I held as the neurotypical child in my family that sparked my involvement,” Mclnerney said. “I grew up feeling frustrated by my sister’s disability. I felt angry by how others treated her. I grew up feeling overlooked. I felt the pressure to be perfect. In all of this, I overlooked myself. It took the task of my Gold Award for me to realize that mattered, helping others like me.”
In her role at Special Siblings, Mclnerney plans and leads meetings, coordinates guest speakers, advertises and holds fundraisers.
“Together we discuss the importance of empathy, acceptance, advocacy and understanding,” Mclnerney said. “We also work on honing our coping mechanisms to confront issues of jealousy, bullying, frustration and guilt. Monthly activities help achieve these broader lessons.”
Mclnerney will be attending North Carolina State University this fall and will double major in chemical engineering and Spanish. She has been selected to be a part of several scholar groups, including the Park Scholarship program, the University Scholars program and the Ben Franklin Scholars program.
“At the moment, my career aspirations are to go to medical school to pursue medicine from an engineering perspective,” Mclnerney said. “I wish to study the nanostructures involved in tumor development as an oncologist.”
However, being only 18, Mclnerney understands that college may change her aspirations and the route she is on. She said she is open to all potential career paths and opportunities ahead of her.