A pair of Hurricane student-athletes, Sylvia Elkins and Victor Pinones-Haltenhoff, were recently awarded James Deriso Scholarships by the GSW School of Business. Both recipients were recommended for the prestigious honor by business department faculty.
This memorial endowment was established by the family of James G. Deriso. Mr. Deriso, father of Mrs. Betty Pope, a former Chairperson of Georgia Southwestern Foundation’s Board of Trustees, was a successful businessman in Sumter County. Consideration is given to participation and leadership in campus activities and extracurricular activities. The scholarship criteria requires recipients to be junior or senior status, accepted into the School of Business, with a GPA of 3.0, and no more than one grade of “C” in upper division courses.
Elkins is a graduate of Heritage High School in Conyers, Ga. She is an accounting major and a junior on the women's basketball team. Elkins appeared in 11 games last season for the Lady Hurricanes.
Pinones-Haltenhoff is a native of Barcelona, Spain and played in his first season for the GSW men's tennis team last spring. He played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles as a junior, and is entering his senior season for the Hurricanes. Pinones-Haltenhoff is a marketing major.