Jesse Brown graduated from Orleans High School in Orleans, Indiana in June, 2003. In high school, he played the trumpet in the marching band. He won a silver medal in the National Agri-Business Competition in 2002. He was a member of the National Honor Society, was nominated to Who’s Who Among High School Students. He was the Freshman Class President, and won the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. He has performed with the Orange County Players, and in the Little Theater Bedford. He attended Camp Bravehearts as a camper and a counselor. He also collected over 3,000 used pill bottles to be used in a medical facility in Haiti. Jesse attends Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, where he has been a lifelong member. He and his family are quite active in the church. His grandfather is a Deacon, and the two of them operate the P.A. system for services. His mother is treasurer and pianist, and his grandmother is the organist. His father teaches the largest Sunday school class. Jesse now attends Hanover College and is majoring in communications and theatre. He feels that he would have an invaluable position as a witness for Christ as a member of the communications community. Besides those individuals he would see daily and know on a personal level, he would be able to reach out to others who would be brought to him by his career. Jesse is also heavily involved in community service. He has participated and organized numerous service events. The one he has donated the most time to is organ donor awareness. When he was 13 and in 7th grade, Jesse was diagnosed with a dilated cardiomyopathy. Later that year, he received a heart transplant. Unfortunately, others are not as lucky as he has been. Many people die each day from diseases or defects that could be remedied with a transplant. For Jesse, the greatest reward from doing this work is to see those who have received transplants live life as they did before they became ill. Jesse has been involved in many different activities to increase awareness. He has been in poetry readings, state fairs, community license branches, and style shows promoting the cause of organ donation. He also counseled a couple whose baby was undergoing a heart transplant. The child is now four years old and in good health. Since his involvement in donor awareness, the donor consent rate has risen greatly in his community and those surrounding him. Also, along with the Indiana Organ Procurement Agency and Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, statewide consent has substantially risen. Jesse was chosen as the 2003-2004 Sydney Mae Taylor Foundation, Inc. scholarship because it was felt that he embodies all of the qualities that we were looking for in a recipient. We wish him the best of luck in all of his pursuits. He will receive the scholarship for all four years of school as long as he maintains the minimum requirements to continue the scholarship. We are proud and honored that Sydney’s spirit lives on and that she is able to positively impact people’s lives through her foundation.