Download Jessica's Winning Essay!

The winner of our first Girls Gone Great contest is Jessica Cottrell.  Jessica is a 17-year old senior at Patapsco High School and Center for Performing Arts in Dundalk.  She lives in Rosedale with her parents, John and Jane Cottrell, and her brother, Corbin, who is 11.  Currently, they have six cats and a dog named Petey.  Jessica says they have had up to nine cats because animals in need are one of her weaknesses.

Jessica’s favorite subjects are art, photography and history, and she really likes the teachers at her school.  For fun, she takes Tae Kwon Do and loves to read just about anything.  She likes being with her friends and animals and enjoys taking photos of everything!  She loves spending time with her grandparents and her aunts and is very close to a little girl she baby sits who calls her “Aunt Jessie”.  Jessica also finds volunteering rewarding and tries to get her friends and her boyfriend involved in different projects.

Jessica hopes to attend either the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore or The Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, and pursue her dream of photography.  She wants to create her own photo-based magazine to promote and get people excited about working together as volunteers.
 
Jessica told us, “This scholarship is so special because I know that college is expensive.  But more than that, I am really happy to be thought of as a girl who might influence other girls to be a Girl Gone Great.”