News
Salem County 2000 honors recent graduates
CONTACT: Bill Clark
(856.351.2602 or 856.466.5318)
DATE: August 22, 2007
Carrie Ann Bowen and Carl Van Keuren Baker were honored with community
service awards from Salem County 2000. Each student received a $500 check
from Salem County 2000 representatives at a reception in their honor at
Salem Community College.
Bowen is a 2007 graduate of the Salem County Career and Technical High
School’s Academy of Biological and Medical Sciences. She was the Junior
ROTC unit’s cadet commander in 2007. She is the founder of “Compassion,”
an educational movement designed to raise awareness in the community about
the ongoing genocide taking place in Danfur, Sudan. To bring attention to
this problem, Carrie has written letters to elected leaders at the state
and national levels, circulated petitions, written letters to newspapers
and organized two peace vigils. The Woodstown resident also has
volunteered at Friends Home for two years and has provided child care for
her church for six years. Carrie is a student at Salem Community College
and plans to earn an associate degree next year. She will transfer to
American University and major in international studies.
Baker is a 2007 graduate of Arthur P. Schalick High School. In 2006 and
2007, he co-chaired the school’s “Rock for Cancer” concert that raised
$600 this year for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. For the
past four years, the Pittsgrove resident helped organize his community’s
Relay for Life event, co-chairing the entertainment committee. Carl also
volunteers with the Elmer Library and the Project Safe Halloween. At
Schalick, he was student council representative to the Board of Education
and a peer mediator. He is a Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar and
the first student from the Pittsgrove Township School District to receive
a U.S. Congressional Award Bronze Medal. Carl was accepted into New York
University’s scholars program and will major in communications.
Graduating students from a Salem County high school were eligible for the
Salem County 2000 community service award. Salem County 2000 is a
volunteer partnership dedicated to community and individual improvement
through lifelong learning.
