Alcon Aggies Announce
2006 Scholarship Recipients

The “Alcon Aggies” announced their 2006 Scholarship Recipients and honored the recipients at a Scholarship Recognition Dinner on August 9^th.

2006 marks the 12^th anniversary of the Dr. Richard DeMoye Poe (2^nd from left in the photo) Academic Scholarship. The scholarship was established in December 1994 by the Alcon Aggies to honor Dr. Richard Poe (A&M class of ’64) at his retirement from Alcon after 35 years of service.

In 2006, the Alcon Aggies awarded three $1,200.00 scholarships. The 2006 recipients are:

Mackenzie Browder (2^nd from right in the photo) is the daughter of Mark and Melissa Browder (Mark works in Corporate Finance). Mackenzie will enter her freshman year at Texas A&M in just a couple of weeks and plans to major in Psychology (Mackenzie is actually leaving for Fish Camp later this afternoon). Mackenzie graduated from Keller High School in May 2006. While in High School, Mackenzie had a cumulative GPA of 101.1346 and scored a 2010 on her SAT (maximum SAT score is now 2400). Mackenzie served as the Texas State President of the Texas Association of Student Council (TASC) during her Junior and Senior year, as well as serving as the presiding officer of the TASC Board of Directors. She served 4 years on the Keller HS Student Council. Mackenzie was a member and officer of the Indianettes Dance/Drill Team for 4 years, and was elected “Miss Indianette” during her Senior year. She was a member of the top 5% Honor Roll, the National Honor Society, and the Sociology and Leadership “Letter K” (top 1% academically). She was also named “Student Body Officer of the Year” in 2006. Mackenzie is a tremendous volunteer... she has served as a member of the Green Cord Program – serving 100+ hours of community service during 2005-06, as well as volunteering in the “Readers are Leaders” program and the Teens Against Alcohol Abuse, the Keller HS Blood Drives, Angel Tree Drives and has most recently been a volunteer teacher at Apex After-School childcare and a volunteer teacher aid at Chisholm Trail Intermediate School. This summer she worked as a preschool teacher/child care at the Ivy Glen School. Mackenzie chose A&M because...”...there are many genuine, promising, and Christian people at A&M that make up the everlasting Aggie community...”

Laura Ann Richards (1^st from left in the photo) is the daughter of Diane Richards (Diane works in Documentation at Alcon’s Houston facility). Laura will enter her freshman year at Texas A&M in a few weeks as well and plans to major in Biology. Laura graduated from Sam Rayburn High School in Pasadena, TX, in May 2006 with a 5.0895 cumulative GPA and scored a 2080 on her SAT (again, the maximum score is now 2400), Laura also attended community college classes during her senior year and has already completed 12 hours of college credit (with a 3.5 GPA). In 2006, Laura was a National Merit Finalist, received the President’s Education Award, and was a Texas Scholar. Laura also was awarded the UIL Scholar Award, the Rotary Club Student of the Month, The Bell All Around Senior Girl, the “Most Spirited and Dedicated Cheerleader” award. Laura was also a 4 year member of the National Honor Roll and was named “Who’s Who Among American High School Students” in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Laura was very involved in Cheerleading, the Marching Band Drumline, as well as in Broadcast Journalism. Laura also volunteered in many community service endeavors including; Salvation Army, the Bridge, March of Dimes, Katrina Hurricane Relief, Race for the Cure, Shattered Dreams and as a Summer Camp Counselor. This summer, Laura has been holding down 2 jobs – as a cashier at Kroger and as a hostess at Outback Steakhouse. Laura chose A&M because...”...it has a very good reputation for education, especially in the science dept. I went to visit A&M and knew it was the right school for me. The atmosphere is so friendly and the people are so involved...”. Laura plans to pursue a career in medicine, and fulfill her dream of becoming a surgeon.

Brandon Williamson (1^st from right in the photo) is the son of Betty and Clyde Williamson (Betty works in R&D). Brandon will enter his sophomore year at Texas A&M in the Fall of 2006 and is majoring in Physics – during his freshman year, Brandon maintained a 4.0 GPA. Brandon graduated from Martin High School (in Arlington) in May 2005 with a 13.386 cumulative GPA (out of a possible 15), which ranked him 3rd out of 791 in his class and scored a 1560 on his SAT (at that time, the maximum score was 1600). In high school, Brandon was a member of the National Honor Society and a National Merit Commended Scholar. Brandon was also a member of the Physics Club, the Spanish National Honor Society, Student Council Leadership and Key Club. Brandon has worked as a volunteer with Mission Arlington and in his spare time started his own part-time lawn maintenance business in 1999 and has maintained the business until he left for College Station. During his Freshman year at A&M, Brandon was named to the Dean’s Honor Roll, was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Phi Eta Kappa. Brandon also served on the Student Engineers Council and on the “Leaders in Freshman Engineering”. During the Spring semester, Brandon served as an Aggie School Volunteer and has also held down a part-time job with Joe’s Crab Shack. Brandon is a 2nd generation Aggie – his father, Clyde, is class of 1972. After completing his degree in Physics, Brandon plans to become an engineer or a medical physicist... right now, though, he wants to “...concentrate on grades, the college experience, and earning that Aggie Ring!”

Jessica, Amy and Brandon will each receive a $1,200 scholarship for use toward their academic endeavors at Texas A&M. These scholarship monies are derived solely from contributions by the Alcon Aggies and a donation from the Alcon Foundation. The Alcon Aggies have identified over 150 former students (and Aggie Moms and Dads) working within Alcon to date.