Montgomery County Community Foundation Announces 2020 Cort Martin Memorial Scholarship Winner

THE WOODLANDS, TX - Tim and Deanna Martin, along with the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Community Foundation are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2020 MCCF Cort Martin Memorial Scholarship at Lone Star College Montgomery is Ciah Eliana McCandless, a 2020 graduate from Oak Ridge High School. This scholarship supports her first semester at Lone Star College Montgomery where she is seeking a degree in Nursing.

The Martin Family created this scholarship as a memorial to their son, Cort, who was tragically killed in an automobile-train accident during his junior year at The Woodlands High School. His parents wanted to create a permanent memorial that would result in something positive for their community. The Martins decided to award needs based scholarships to students who exhibited a “positive and caring attitude and community spirit.”

The 2020 winner of this scholarship, Ciah McCandless, began taking AP classes at Oak Ridge High School in her sophomore year. She served the Air Force Junior ROTC as a group commander her senior year and received numerous awards and recognitions from the organization for her leadership and dedication. With the Air Force Junior ROTC, she participated in and assisted with many local parades and events. Her community work took her to local elementary schools where she worked with students. In her essay, Ms. McCandless talked about how Hurricane Harvey changed her view of people. “Through the insightful experience of a catastrophic hurricane, I gained an optimistic perspective about humanity,” she wrote. “I learned to gain a personal sense of judgement, and to understand that ambition and hope bring triumph to even the harshest of scenarios.”

Tim and Deanna Martin, parents of Cort Martin, along with the board of the Montgomery County Community Foundation, are proud to award this scholarship to Ms. McCandless. The MCCF Cort Martin Memorial Scholarship is available to CISD graduating seniors who plan on attending Lone Star College Montgomery as a full time student and have a financial need. Interested students should contact their school counselor for the application in the spring of 2021.

Montgomery County Community Foundation unites donors’ passions with the future by creating legacies that improve the quality of life of Montgomery County residents through post high school scholarships and support of non-profits serving Montgomery County. To find out more about MCCF, go to www.mccfoundation.org or call Julie Martineau at 281-367-8158.

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