Heritage High School twelfth grader Savannah Hicks was announced as the first-ever winner of the new Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) Computer Science Scholarship at the school board meeting on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. The $15,000 needs-based scholarship will be awarded annually by the LCS Education Foundation to a top computer science student who plans to pursue a career in the field.
“It is my privilege and honor to announce the inaugural recipient of the newly established LCS Computer Science Scholarship, Savannah Hicks. Her passion for computer science is contagious, and her future is bright,” said LCS Education Foundation Executive Director Dawn Wise. “This new annual scholarship will help remove financial barriers for LCS students to pursue careers in computer science, allowing the next generation of innovators to step up and realize their potential.”
Hicks plans to pursue a career in computer science at Randolph College with an emphasis in game development and a minor in studio art. She shines in advanced cybersecurity classes at Heritage High School, where she applies her extensive knowledge of the subject as a teaching assistant.
Cybersecurity isn’t the only facet of Career and Technical Education (CTE) Hicks has explored. She recently won first place for Extemporaneous Speaking in the state SkillsUSA career readiness competition, and she’ll advance to the national competition in June. In addition to excelling academically, Hicks writes and plays the ukulele and electric guitar.
Hicks has been passionate about computer science for more than a decade. She hopes her future career will inspire other students to pursue their own goals.
“A lot of people go into the field of computer science for the financial stability. But this means so much more to me,” Hicks wrote in her application letter. “I’m doing this for my mom, who supported me through every endeavor. I’m doing this for the little Black girls who may see me and think, ‘I can do this, too.’”
This scholarship is made possible by donors Linda Carr and Clarence James, whose contributions are being used to remove barriers to learning for LCS students, address learners’ basic needs, and advance CTE opportunities for students and graduates.