2018’s Family Law Enforcement Scholarship Winner Learned to Work Hard and Achieve Excellence
Fales & Fales, P.A., a Maine personal injury law firm, has selected the winner of its annual Family Law Enforcement Scholarship, which is open to all graduate and undergraduate students with family ties to all divisions of law enforcement.
As outlined on the scholarship page, its offered to applicants who have maintained a 3.0 GPA and submitted an essay describing how their family’s law enforcement background has affected their lives. The winning entrant receives the $1,000 scholarship to support their higher education.
The 2018 winner is Emily Heithcock, an undergraduate student at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University who plans to graduate in two years’ time with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.
One of the biggest influences on Emily’s life was her grandfather, whom she fondly refers to in her essay as “Deputy John Morris Heithcock.” Deputy Heithcock, who served with the Fairview, Tennessee, police department, was killed in the line of duty on June 28, 1972. He left a wife and four young children.
Although she never met her grandfather, Emily says that his death impacted her life on several levels. As the oldest son, her father had to grow up quickly, and he later instilled in his daughter a sense of independence and pride in who she was.
She says,
“My father has always taught me to remember who I am, to work hard in all that I do, and shoot for the stars even if it feels impossible because that is what his father taught him.”
Emily remarked that she will work her hardest and use the scholarship to make Deputy John Morris Heithcock proud of the man and father he was during his time on earth.
Attorneys Jennifer Ferguson and Anthony Ferguson, of Fales & Fales, P.A., established the annual Family Law Enforcement Scholarship to support higher education for students with active-duty, retired, or deceased law enforcement personnel in their family. The award is both a tribute to Anthony Ferguson’s father, who served with the Lewiston, Maine Police Department, and a proud acknowledgment of the difference that law enforcement officers make in the communities they serve. The firm plans to continue offering the annual scholarship for years to come.
