The Marjorie Holt Scholarship for Young Women

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The scholarship was established to honor our most notable founding member, Congresswoman Marjorie Sewell Holt (September 17, 1920 – January 6, 2018).  

The amount of the scholarship is $1,000. 

Mrs. Holt was born in Alabama and moved to Florida where she was raised and met her husband, Duncan, while a student at University of Florida.  She was a trailblazer even then, attending college and Law School at a time when most women did not seek higher education.   Young Marjorie had decided in seventh grade that she wanted to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives because of her admiration for Thomas Jefferson. 

She practiced law in Severna Park after she and her husband moved here for his work at Westinghouse.  They raised their family here and she entered politics becoming the Supervisor of Elections.  In 1966 she was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Anne Arundel county where she served for 6 years.  In 1972 she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the first woman elected to Congress in Maryland in a general election.  She served there 14 years before returning to law practice in Baltimore. 
 

Mrs. Holt continued to be an active member of the Severna Park Republican Women's Club, attending meetings, serving on the board and mentoring women interested in serving in public office.  Her endorsement was sought and coveted by men and women running for office.  The scholarship was set up to help young women continue their education and is given to the author of the best essay written.   

Notice is given to local schools usually in January and the committee announces its award in March.  Notice is also given to the local papers. 

Marjorie Holt Scholarship Award

"No problem of human making is too great to be overcome by human ingenuity, human energy, and the untiring hope of the human spirit,"  President George H. W. Bush

When tasked to respond to the statement made by George H.W. Bush for this scholarship essay I find myself digging deep in America’s past. The statement applies to both historical crisis involving the civil war all the way up to modern age society being both true and realistic. Any obstacles human nature faces we are able to overcome them. Crisis, turmoil and chaos created by man can be defeated if leaders and society have the inventiveness, ambition and perseverance to outweigh the negative influences.

One example of human disaster includes the American Civil War and its strong impact on American society. The original division between North and South came to a close with the uniting of both sides. The peace brought the abolition of slavery, equal citizenship and voting rights. All of which were critical to the successful future of our country. The birth of the Republican Party grew from anti-slavery and fighting for the rights of African Americans post war. In my opinion, the lives sacrificed embodied the true human spirit our country needed. Seeing these soldiers with the will to fight was a true testament to human passion. Republican President, Abraham Lincoln had the original idea for the Emancipation Proclamation, which helped us win the war by encouraging African Americans to fight for their freedom. Even at the young state of the nation, the Republican Party acknowledged the difficulties of that time and created foundations to move toward a future of success.

A second major human catastrophe include the September 11th terrorist attacks. Many terrorist attacks have damaged our country, but in the end we have been able to get through hardships as a unit. The disaster and human catastrophe of 9/11 was a fatal turning point that unified the United States. Under the leadership of Republican President George W. Bush, border security was immediately heightened and the Homeland Security Act was established. This tragedy led to the innovation of the Transportation Security Administration agency which gave authority over security of public travel in the U.S. The aftermath of the attacks showed the true acts of bravery, patriotism and compassion of the men and women of America. Many Americans had the will to enlist in the military to help fight for the almost 3,000 lives lost on this day. When the Parkland High School shooting happened last year, my school made banners with caring thoughts and sent them to Parkland. We wanted them to know we were hurting with them and wanted to help them through this difficult time. Without coming together as a country we would not have been able to find resolutions to these conflicts. When we put our differences aside and work as one we are able to face any obstacle just as Present Bush said in his quote. 

As the first republican woman elected to congress, Marjorie Holt embodied the true human spirit of ambition, creativity and inventiveness. Even when she felt the prejudice and bias toward women, being told “I can’t vote for you, simply because you’re a woman,” she pursued her passion and calling for serving her community. This past fall, a record number of women were elected to political office. These Republican women offer exemplary service and representation. In the spirit of Marjorie Holt being such a proponent of Department of Defense installations, I currently am employed by the Department of Defense as a High School Work Study and would like to continue a career with the Federal Government whether it be the FBI or DOD after high school. She paved the way for people like me to attain these jobs. The Republican Party wants us to come together and be a country as a whole. I feel as if we are achieving this goal. Last year, the Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass a law to eliminate websites that conduct online sex trafficking of minors. This allows state law enforcement to prosecute people from the website that violate the federal sex trafficking laws. Victims can also sue the website. This law not only saves millions of vulnerable kids but shows the fact the opposing parties can put their differences aside and work as one to help the youth of our nation. These are further examples of negative events being addressed just like the Bush quote. 

I feel strongly the Bush quote is spot on. There will always be major conflicts but we will always come together to overcome them. The inventiveness, ambition and forward thinking will trump these tragedies.