Zachary Davis scholarships announced
Sydney Warther
Natalie Yoder
Taryn Chastain
In support of the intent of the Zachary Davis Memorial Foundation, a total of three scholarships have been awarded to local students who plan to pursue a college education with a focus on helping others.
Canton South High School graduate Taryn Chastain will be a student at Cleveland State University this fall and was selected as a scholarship awardee. Anita Davis, administrator of the foundation, said she was impressed with Chastain’s passion for helping others.
“She exemplifies the qualities that the Zachary Davis Memorial Foundation supports,” Davis said. “I especially love her statement, ‘My main goal is to make life different in peoples’ lives, for the better.’”
Taylor University-bound Sydney Warther, a member of the Class of 2020 at Dover High School, also was selected as a scholarship recipient.
“Her essay was simply inspiration,” Davis said of Warther, who plans to major in financial and international studies.
Warther said she feels she is being led to work in a nonprofit humanitarian organization upon completion of her college studies.
Natalie Yoder, a graduate of Tusky Valley High School, will pursue higher education at Walsh University this fall. Her focus is pharmacy, where she believes she can best use her love of science to help others.
“She is committed to helping others,” Davis said. “Her attitude will take her far.”
Scholarship monies will be paid directly to the school where winners are attending.
The foundation is continuously working to provide opportunities for students at area schools to learn about drugs and the consequences of even one use on themselves and their families.
Davis, the mother of the late Zachary Davis, who died as the result of drugs, shares her story, along with others from the community who have fought the demons and danced with the devil of drugs and survived. For Davis, the work is of the heart as she speaks with students of all ages.
In addition the foundation spearheads the Nope to Dope Campaign. It began Nov. 12, 2005, the day drugs ended the life of Zachary Davis, age 24. The goal of the campaign is simple: to save lives.
Zach Davis grew up in Dover, where he attended high school. However, addiction became a part of his life. As part of the Nope to Dope Campaign, Duke Bixler, Zach Davis’ grandfather, erected a billboard on I-77 in Dover. This road intersects U.S. Route 250, which leads to Route 22, and also is known as the heroin highway due to the sheer amount of drug traffic.
For more information visit www.zachsstory.org.