by David Snow
The Paducah Sun
February 12, 2022
Used with permission.
Paducah Tilghman High School junior Kauri Whitfield is one of six members of this year’s PaxtonScholars Class XII, and she has her sights set on working in the medical field.
The scholarships are distributed through the McCracken County Community Care Endowment Inc., known as MCCCE Inc. The $1 million endowment was started by Fred Paxton and his wife, Peggy.
Fred Paxton was a former chairman of the board and president of Paxton Media Group — which owns The Paducah Sun and WPSD-TV — and was a publisher for The Sun.
Whitfield earned the scholarship and accompanying laptop computer, but she almost didn’t apply.
“I was very happy (to hear that I had won), but I actually wasn’t going to submit my form because I was confused about one of the last pages,” she said. “So, I said, ‘I’m just going to talk to Ms. (Rebecca) Rogers (the PTHS freshman and junior counselor).
“I’m just happy that I listened to her and sent it in.”
Whitfield — whose first name rhymes with “Laurie” — said she wants to be a nurse.
“I’m going to apply for some more scholarships, but if I don’t get what I want, I might go for two years (at West Kentucky Community and Technical College) and get my associate’s and I can be working,” she said. “I’m going to transfer colleges after that, and then I can be working while I’m still in college.”
Whitfield said the laptop is already helping her with her studies, and winning the scholarship is rubbing off on family members and friends.
“It helps you feel like you have accomplished something early on,” she said. “(My younger brother) asked me, ‘How do you get scholarships?’ He’s a freshman, though; he just got to school.”
Whitfield is a member of the PTHS Beta Club and took part in the African-American Leadership Club. She is a member of the track and field team, specializing in hurdles, and was a member of the Health Occupations Students of America.
She took part in Junior Olympics when she was in seventh grade.
Whitfield transferred to Paducah Tilghman from McCracken County High School in during the 2020-21 school year.
“That took some getting used to, but it wasn’t that bad,” she said.
She was offered membership in the National Honor Society, but she could not fit that into her schedule.
Earning a scholarship carries a value of more than the scholarship itself.
“It means something special to me,” Whitfield said. “I was one of the people who got picked, and I actually wasn’t even going to send it in. I just listened, and I got it.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it. I didn’t know how many people could get it, I just sent it in.”
Whitfield is the daughter of Versean Sherrill and Kwame Whitfield of Paducah.
The Paducah Sun is publishing an article about two of this year’s PaxtonScholar winners each Saturday in Paducah. For more information about MCCCE Inc., visit mccce.org.