As a teacher, Mrs. Szymkowiak places value on creating an atmosphere of joy for her students because she always found school to be a place that brought her joy as a child.  School was one constant source of happiness as she faced challenges growing up, and that positive attitude is evident in her approach to education.

Sara has taught in Jefferson County Public Schools at a Title One school for 10 years in the elementary grades, with most of her experience in teaching third grade. She holds a B.S. degree in Elementary Education (K-5) and a B.S. degree in Learning and Behavioral Disorders (K-12).  Her M.S. degree is in Specialist in Reading and Writing Proficiency (K-12), and she is currently obtaining her ELS (English as a Second Language) Endorsement.

She is a member of St. Bernadette Catholic Church.  Besides her many community service activities such as having directed a Mom’s group with over 60 mothers, Sara works part-time with Louisville Children’s Museum.   She and her husband Robert live in Louisville.  They have been married for 10 years and have 4 children.

As a former academic underachiever due in part to fatherly abandonment, Dr. Marlon Robinson overcame obstacles through a spirit of resilience and is now a Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Board-Certified Chaplain.

Marlon received his Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University. He received both his M.A. and Ph.D in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio Texas. He is an inductee of both Sigma Alpha Pi and Delta Kappa. He currently serves as Director of Pastoral Care at AdventHealth Manchester.  He and his wife Otencia live in London, Kentucky and they have three young children.

Honorable James Tee Pennington is an attorney with Bluegrass Law Group in Lexington and he is also an assistant Professor at EKU where he teaches courses in Pre-Law Studies. He received his Juris Doctorate from University of KY School of Law.

Tee grew up in Manchester and overcame seemingly insurmountable odds through resilience and mentorship to achieve this level of success even at this early stage in his career. He and his wife Sandy live in Lexington and are committed to remaining connected to the people and needs of Clay County.

Mrs. Henson continues to be a force in leadership even after her retirement from a 33 ½ year career in teaching with the Clay County Public School system.  She remains in service to our region through such roles as Trustee for the University of the Cumberlands and as a long-standing board member of CVADD (Cumberland Valley Area Development District). Cookie has also served on EKU’s Board of Regents from 2001-2004 and she was appointed to the state board of KHSAA (KY High School Athletic Association) where she served for 8 years.

Cookie received both her Master’s degree and her Rank 1 Certification from Union College.  Before that, she obtained her undergraduate degree in teaching from Cumberland College (now University of the Cumberlands).  When it came time to assign her to a school district for student teaching in 1974 there was no school system within a 100 mile radius that would allow her to do student teaching due to extreme racial discrimination that still existed well after desegregation.  An exception was made to allow her to return to her own school system of Clay County to complete her student teaching.  Even after graduation with a teaching certificate in hand she was unable to secure a teaching job in her own or any nearby school system.  Through her resilience, she found an opportunity in Knoxville, where she worked at Tennessee School for the Deaf for several years before returning home, being among the first four teachers of color to be hired in the integrated Clay County School System- more than twenty years after school desegregation. She continued to teach at Clay County High School throughout her career.

Cookie has been a member of Lyttleton Baptist Church for 33 years.  She and her husband, McCoy, have been married for 43 years and they have one adult daughter, McKesha.

Cookie brings much expertise and wisdom to our board for many reasons, including her vast board experience with various organizations and her many years as an educator in our local school system.

Thompson Scholars Foundation seeks to highlight the life work of Dr. Aaron Thompson by naming the foundation in his honor.