Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2022

COAST NOTE
story by Cherie Ward
photos by Madeline Simpson and courtesy of AlphaCare Urgent Care
AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS
TO TWO HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
wo Gulf Coast high school seniors have about 5,000 more reasons to smile these days. Sarah
Brown and Tineka Adams have each received a $5,000 scholarship courtesy of AlphaCare Urgent
Care to help fund their college goals.
Dr. George Loukatos, MD began the scholarship program
in March as a way to thank the Coastal communities for trusting him and his staff during the global pandemic. "The last couple of years have been challenging for everyone and we thought what better way to give back to the community than with a scholarship program," Loukatos said.
Loukatos' daily patient roster is often filled with Coast children and teenagers. "We see a lot of young kids and teens at our clinics," Loukatos said. "We have everything from colds and fevers to high school athletes needing physicals and we want to help them all."
AlphaCare Urgent Care has locations in Ocean Springs, Biloxi, and Gulfport. The inaugural scholarship program was open to high school seniors in Jackson and Harrison counties.
Brown, a senior at Ocean Springs High School, said she can't wait to go to Mississippi State University while Adams, a senior at Biloxi High School, is excited to head to the University of Houston where she plans to play volleyball.
Both girls are counting down the days until graduation and are eagerly planning their futures. "We are so proud to be able to help these outstanding young ladies get their futures started, and look forward to seeing all the great things that they will accomplish," Loukatos said.
He added the choice to provide two $5,000 scholarships was an incredibly easy decision. "I knew I didn't want to just give out several $1,000 scholarships," Loukatos said. "I wanted to really give students a substantial amount of help to get them started on their college career paths."
Narrowing down more than 50 applications to only
two proved more difficult. "It was such a hard choice," Loukatos said. "Ultimately, Sarah and Tineka were the most deserving."
He also stated that additional scholarships might be added to next year's scholarship program.
18 | June 2022
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Tineka Adams. Sarah Brown.