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ARLE & KEN ADAMS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Wellington Community Foundation Presents Annual Scholarships To Three Talented Students
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STORY BY DEBORAH WELKY | PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN
The Wellington Community Foundation’s Arle & Ken Adams Scholarship recipients were named at this year’s Thank You Soirée held Thursday, May 12 at the Boynton Financial Group offices in Wellington. This year’s winners are Ryann Bierman, Miles Wang and Isabella Whedbee — three outstanding candidates, noted scholarship chairs James Seder and Joanna Boynton. The foundation created this scholarship to serve those in need who can benefit from a helping hand in order to become one of tomorrow’s leaders.The scholarship is awarded annually to Wellington students who either live in or attend high school in Wellington. The scholarship was named in honor of former Palm Beach County Commissioner Ken Adams and his wife Arle Adams. Longtime Wellington residents, Arle and Ken Adams made great contributions to the growth and development of the Village of Wellington, dating back to the late 1970s. Key figures in getting Wellington 24
june 2022 | wellington the magazine
incorporated as a municipality in the 1990s, there are few aspects of Wellington’s story that cannot be attributed to some kind of involvement or assistance from Arle and Ken Adams. The foundation voted to create this scholarship in their honor to ensure their legacy lives on.
Ryann Bierman recently graduated from Wellington High School with a grade point average of 3.9. She will be attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she plans to major in geology — at least that’s the plan for now. “It may eventually change,” Bierman said. “I’ll have to see how much I like rocks once I start studying them full time.” She may even check out UF’s new Gator Glaciology Lab, where Associate Professor of Geological Sciences Mick-
ey MacKie, together with a team of undergrads, use machine learning tools to study the conditions under glaciers to better understand movement and melting in order to help ascertain the impact of the world’s glaciers on rising sea levels. “Once I get my degree, I can work in the paleontology field, although I may have to go beyond my bachelor’s degree to get there,” Bierman explained. “I’d like to go out and find fossils. I think that would be an amazing thing to do, although not forever. Eventually, I’d like to work in a museum or in labs on research projects.” If her love of rocks does dim while in school, Bierman said she may pivot to a major in anthropology or archeology. Providing the impetus for her allround love of science is Bierman’s mother. “First and foremost, it’s my mom,” she said.“My mother was in the science field during her career, and she’s the one who got me interested in it. Then