After the first few years being open only to Lake Braddock Secondary School Students, the Art of Driving college scholarship in honor of Lake Braddock student Ashley Thompson expanded to all Fairfax County High Schools. The $2,500 award is now open to all high school seniors in Fairfax, Arlington, Falls Church and Alexandria who will be attending college in the fall.
Thompson was a sophomore at Lake Braddock when she died in a single vehicle crash on June 10, 2003. Her mother Robin started a program called “Survive the 5” that teaches teenagers about the leading causes of vehicle crashes and has been raising awareness through 5K road races over the last two years.
The scholarship application includes a 500-word essay “about how they feel teens could be motivated and influenced to be safer drivers and smarter passengers,” Robin Thompson said in an email. In addition, applicants are asked to produce a 55-second video following the same theme as the essay.
Applications for this year’s class are due by April 30, 2016 and can be submitted via email to 2016ARTSCHOLARSHIP@theartofdriving.org. For more information, visit www.theartofdriving.org.