Ashe County High School students Molly Maine and Holland Price and Ashe Early College student Malea Lambert were awarded the 2026 Beaver Creek High School Memorial Scholarship which this year awarded $1,500 each, renewable annually for up four years.

Maine will be attending East Tennessee State University to pursue a nursing degree to become a labor and delivery nurse. She said she is grateful for her mom being the force that encouraged her to rise above any obstacle with integrity and compassion. Maine also said she strives to honor the values of service, dedication and community in her nursing journey.

Price will be attending North Carolina State University to pursue an education degree, with a focus on middle grades education, social studies, and language arts. She said she was inspired by the women in her life to not only be a teacher, but to reach high goals in positions like principal and superintendent and that this scholarship will help her to achieve her goals with less stress and worry.

Lambert will be attending Appalachian State University to pursue a degree in biochemistry to prepare herself for medical school. Growing up on a farm, she said she became known as “the family medic” and would like to give back and help others the way the farm helped her.

From left: Molly Maine, Holland Price and Malea Lambert

The Beaver Creek High School Memorial Scholarship is administered by Connor Bowers and managed by the North Carolina Community Foundation. The scholarship committee includes co-founders Lynn Moretz, John Duvall, and Rebecca Burgess, along with Kim Baughman, Jennifer Treski, and Rebecca Eldreth.

“As a former recipient of the scholarship, I’ve seen firsthand the impact it has on students and families in our community,” said Bowers, “It is amazing to see how this scholarship has grown! This year, we are proud to be awarding three renewable scholarships!”

The scholarship is awarded annually to graduating seniors of a public Ashe County high school who have been admitted as full time students to any accredited college or university with an overall 3.0 grade point average during grades 10 through 12. Students must also demonstrate good character and financial need.

The Beaver Creek High School Memorial Scholarship was established at NCCF in 2010. Since that time, it has awarded $90,000 to 23 students attending schools including Appalachian State University, Carson New University, East Tennessee State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest University, Western Carolina University, and Wilkes Community College. Recipients have gone on to become attorneys, physicians, architects, accountants, county extension agents and more.

To learn more about the scholarship, visit nccommunityfoundation.org/BeaverCreekHighSchool

About the North Carolina Community Foundation
The North Carolina Community Foundation transforms the collective generosity of our donors into a permanent source of community support, with a focus on the state’s rural areas.
NCCF partners with donors and a network of affiliates to sustain over 1,300 endowments totaling over $600 million in assets. More than $360 million has been awarded as grants to charitable organizations and scholarships to students, creating stronger communities for generations to come.