TAMPA, Fla. — The playful pirates arrived at dawn, just before the morning bell at Jefferson High School in Tampa.
They were preparing to invade — you know, after signing in at the front office.
Led by chief scalawag Lee Winter, the fellas from Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla entered the school not to plunder but to bestow treasure upon one special student — $14,000 worth of treasure, to be exact.
"This is so exciting," said Lee. "The students usually have no idea."
For the past 26 years, YMKG's Community Fund (started by krewe "king" George Steinbrenner) has been rewarding Hillsborough County's top graduating seniors with a total of $1.3 million in scholarship money.
Today at Jefferson High, in a raucous auditorium filled with giddy seniors, the YMKG pirates surprised senior class president Melanie Hernandez with a $14,000 scholarship.
Hernandez is also class valedictorian — a tremendous academic feat she managed all while working two jobs to help support herself and her family.
Hernandez will attend Florida State University in the fall. She wants to be a lawyer.
Thanks to the $14,000 pirate scholarship, for the first time in a long time, she doesn't have to worry about balancing school and work.
"This gives me a chance to focus on just my studies," said an emotional Hernandez. "I've never really been able to do that before!"
