The Seminole County Historical Society has sponsored the scholarship competition since 2013.
The scholarship was initiated at the request of Mrs. Carolyn Bistline. She personally funded the scholarship for several years to encourage young people to pursue careers and studies in local history. Mrs. Bistline was a former teacher at Lyman Middle School and a long-time resident of Longwood. She was also a life-time member of the Seminole County Historical Society, which is the membership and fund-raising organization for the Museum of Seminole County History. Mrs. Bistline passed away the day after the 2017 scholarship was awarded on May 25, 2017. Her obituary can be viewed here. Her brother-in-law, John, another long-time society supporter, sadly passed away a few months later on November 26, 2017. His obituary can be viewed here.
The loss of the Bistlines has had a profound effect on our community. In order to honor the memory of Carolyn, John, and the Bistline family, long-time supporters of the historical society, the Board of Directors of the Seminole County Historical Society has decided to fund the scholarship competition for one final year. The scholarship will be retired after the 2018 competition.
Past winners of the scholarship are:
Bryce Forgue - Lake Brantley High School - 2013
No Scholarship Awarded - 2014
James Henderson - Lyman High School - 2015
Julie Sparks - Seminole High School - 2016
Soloman E. Bland - Hagerty High School - 2017
Deanna Medina - Lyman High School - 2018
Please note: the Bistline Scholarship will NOT be awarded in 2019. The Historical Society is in the process of designing a new history scholarship competition that will debut in 2020.
In 2018, the historical society awarded the 2018 Bistline Family Scholarship Competition to Lyman High School senior Deanna Medina. Miss Medina was accepted at Belmont University in Atlanta, Georgia this past fall. She completed her first semester there in December and sent us a progress update of her first semester's accomplishments that we wanted to share:
"This past semester was my first as a college student. During this time I made my school's debate team and qualified for speech and debate nationals. I also joined the Model UN team and Pre-law society. Recently, I was awarded an honors by being a member of the Dean's List, an award for academic success. I plan on continuing these actions for the remaining of my academic career in the hopes of making you proud. A scholarship is not something to be taken lightly and I truly am grateful for it."
We could not be more proud of Deanna and think the Bistlines (Carolyn and John) would be very proud of Deanna's accomplishments. Congratulations again, Deanna!
1/4
Copyright ©2017-2023 The Seminole County Historical Society - All Rights Reserved. --
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE SEMINOLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, A FLORIDA-BASED NONPROFIT CORPORATION (REGISTRATION #CH11428), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE HERE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.