Foxcroft School seniors Jillian Cairns and Shannon Walker each received prestigious scholarships recently for outstanding performance in academic, community and leadership areas. Both students have already been honored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

At a luncheon on Monday (May 14) that featured Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Edmond P. Giambastiani, Jr., USN, the DC Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) named Cairns as one of 14 scholarship recipients from 12 DC–area high schools. A Chantilly, VA resident who will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology next fall, Cairns was one of two winners in the field of mathematics. She was selected based on her academic achievements, school activities, letters of recommendation, work and civic activities. AFCEA is a non-profit association focused on promoting higher education in the hard sciences, mathematics, computer technology, and engineering. The AFCEA DC Chapter awarded total of $84,000 to its 2007 scholarship effort.

Cairns, who is Foxcroft's Student Head of School, an AP Scholar with Distinction and a member of the Cum Laude Society, earned a national Merit Scholarship earlier this month.

Walker was one of 100 high school seniors awarded college scholarships for their commitment to education and community service by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. The Purcellville, VA, resident received a grant valued at $10,000 each over four years of college. Walker, who plans to attend Princeton University, was named a National Achievement Scholar in April and is also a member of the Cum Laude Society.

The "Toyota Community Scholars" were chosen from a pool of more than 8,000 students nationwide nominated by their schools for being proven leaders both in the classroom and in their communities. Walker was instrumental in organizing the first Loudoun County YouthFest in 2006, an event that drew more than 1,500 youngsters to a day of education and fun at Ida Lee. She will receive. The scholarship winners were guests of honor tonight at an awards banquet in Louisville, KY, May 11 that was attended by education, community, business and government leaders. Rory Kennedy, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, was the keynote speaker.