Smithfield High School graduate Taylor W. Fitchett has been awarded the $3,500 Thomas E. Cofer Memorial Scholarship for 2020.

Fitchett, who earned a 4.42 grade point average in high school, this fall will attend Virginia Tech, where she has been admitted to the university’s Honors College. She plans to major in business management.

Fitchett has been an active volunteer in the community during her high school career. She has been a camp counselor for both Smithfield Baptist Church and Virginia Tech’s 4-H program since 2014, and for the past three years has been a Sunday School teacher at Smithfield Baptist. She has worked as a tutor for Mu Alpha Theta and the Writing Center.

In her application for the scholarship, Fitchett expressed pride in her work with children, particularly as a Sunday School teacher. In children, she wrote, “I find a sense of optimism and curiosity that only they could emit. The children and I have a mutual relationship. They learn from me as I learn from them.”

A letter notifying Fitchett of her selection for the Honors College recognized her community activity.

“The success you have demonstrated in and out of the classroom serves as a testament to your future, and we feel you would be most successful as an Honors College student,” wrote Honors College Dean Paul. L. Knox.

Fitchett is the 30th recipient of the Cofer scholarship, which was established by Malcolm T. Cofer and his wife, the late Edna P. Cofer, in memory of their son Thomas, a top academic student who died in an accident when he was a junior at Smithfield High School.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a Smithfield High School graduate based on a combination of academic and community achievement. The scholarship program is managed through a perpetual trust established for that purpose.