Ambitious Ore City High School Student Wins "Don't Mess with Texas" Scholarship
- 05.27.05
Megan Davis wins $1,000 for tackling her high school's litter problem
(AUSTIN, Texas)—Young Texans are the state's worst litterers, but thanks to Ore City High School senior Megan Davis, the number of offenders in the small Piney Woods town of Ore City may be on the decline.
On May 27, Davis won a Don?t Mess with Texas scholarship, sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and funded by Advantage-Rent-A-Car, for creating a litter-prevention/recycling program at her high school called "Can Wars." The program was in response to a litter problem that became so severe her principal took away a daily 20-minute break period for the entire high school. The "Can Wars" challenged each grade level to pick up and recycle soda cans. The contest was extremely successful, not only resolving the school's litter problem, but creating a behavior change among students, who now actively discard litter and recycle cans on campus.
The Don't Mess with Texas Scholarship was created to recognize the achievements of Texas high school seniors who have taken actions to prevent litter in their schools or communities.
"Megan's litter-prevention activities are truly remarkable and especially inspiring given that Texans ages 16 to 24 are the most frequent litterers," said TxDOT Travel Division Director Doris Howdeshell. "Her determination to solve her school's litter problem as well as her savvy approach to motivating the students made her application stand out for our panel of judges."
In her application, Davis said her project not only encouraged students to stop littering, it enabled them to start their own school-wide recycling project. She plans to use the scholarship money to attend Kilgore College this fall where she'll study nursing.
"Rewarding Megan's leadership and hard work with a college scholarship is something we are honored to provide," said Mark Walker, Vice President of Advantage Rent-A-Car. "Her project inspired others to stop littering at their school which will hopefully carry over to when they travel on Texas roads. And keeping our roads and highways clean is an important component to tourism in Texas and attracting visitors to our great state."
