Local student awarded memorial scholarship

FARMINGTON – A high school senior and cheerleader is the 30th recipient of the Jamie Beth Shible Memorial Scholarship Award, receiving flowers and the program’s plaque beneath the shade of the Flowering Crab tree planted in Jamie Beth’s honor.

Olivia Martin of Farmington received the award, which is given annually to senior members of the cheering team that display “leadership, energy and enthusiasm” in school and while performing routines. Those traits are associated with the scholarship’s namesake, Jamie Beth Shible, who died suddenly on Memorial Day in 1997, days prior to the end of her junior year.

Her parents, Steve and Julie Shible, have been awarding the scholarship most years to one or more recipients since 1998. Martin was the 30th recipient, something Steve Shible said was “almost difficult to fathom.”

“We’re certain that you will be nothing but successful at the next level,” he told Martin, who attended the event with mother Cheryl Martin and cheer team coach Holly Gould.

Martin has been a cheerleader for 2 years, calling the team “a family.” She will be attending the University of New Hampshire and majoring in Sign Language Interpreting. She is familiar with ASL through the high school program, Martin noted, and tutors a deaf student.

In addition to cheerleading, Martin has 10 years of experience in gymnastics and also participates in the chess club and one-act play program at Mt. Blue Campus.

Shible presented Martin with a plaque listing past recipients that the student would keep until next year, as well as flowers, a video commemorating Jamie Beth Shible’s life and other gifts. Martin also received a check for $50; the remaining balance of the $500 scholarship was awarded following the completion of the first year in college.

The event was held beneath a large, Flowering Crab tree, which had been planted in front of the school and was moved following the construction project to the green space beyond the food court.