Teen's scholarship is a neighborly gesture

By ANDREW MEACHAM

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Her first memory had been a happy one: going to the hospital to pick up her baby sister. Meghan Baird was 2 then. They lived in Cleveland. Her grandmother bought her a Cabbage Patch doll that day. They were a family.

When she was 13, that family came apart. William Baird and his wife, Rebecca, were getting a divorce. Meghan and Heather, her younger sister, never saw it coming.

"There was no fighting," Meghan said. "That's what made it harder. I had no idea."

At 17, she is preparing for college. Her neighbors in Meadowlawn have lightened the Bairds' financial load with a $1,000 scholarship, the first of its kind.

They will formally present the award Thursday at 7:30, at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Meadowlawn Neighborhood Association at Bethel Lutheran Church, 1801 62nd Ave N.

Treasurer Bill Goff said he and three other board members sifted through the applications, considering grade point average, SAT scores, extracurricular activities and personal essays.

Meghan's piece about adjusting to life in a single-parent home stood out.

After she was told of the coming divorce, Meghan spent a week writing in her journal and talking to both parents.

"I was really angry," she said. She showed her mother some of the journal entries.

"She said it made her sad, but she was glad I was getting my feelings out."

William Baird retained custody of the children. With her mother out of the home, there was more to do. Meghan grew up fast. She still lives with her father and sister at 6649 23rd Circle N. The most recent addition to the family, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever named Lucy, has helped to restore some lost merriment. Meghan stays in contact with her mother, Rebecca Mooneyham, who lives in Clearwater.

Meghan will attend the University of Florida in the fall and expects to study psychology. She wants to become a clinical psychologist and someday be able to help other kids who are going through tough times.

In the meantime, she balances a demanding course schedule at Northeast High with waiting tables at Steak & Shake, and still has time to be drum major of the band.

She said she feels "really good" that neighbors in the Meadowlawn area of more than 2,000 homes contributed to her scholarship, administered by the Pinellas County Education Foundation. "I'm honored that they chose me," she said. "I really didn't expect to get it."

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