PINEHURST — Two local high school students will receive a little assistance as they move beyond high school and into college.

Tylaseua Declouet of West Orange-Stark High School and Guadalupe Cisneros of Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School are both recipients of $500 scholarships from Altrusa International, Inc. of Orange. The two young women received the scholarships during a special luncheon event Thursday at Robert’s Steakhouse.
The organization obtains the majority of its funds for the scholarship through its annual chili supper fundraiser held each November. Other fundraisers assist the organization in its efforts to provide the scholarship, and another successful year has allowed the group to assist two students this year.
Tylaseua, a senior at West Orange-Stark High School, is active in both school and community, as she is a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church and involved in choir and as a praise dancer. In school, she has been involved in cross country and track, school choir and in journalism.
Tylaseua plans to apply to Lamar University in Beaumont and hopes to enter the medical field in the future as a nurse practitioner.
“I love helping people,” Tylaseua said. “I love being around people and interacting with them.”
Her reason for seeking a career in the medical field stems from her childhood.
“My grandmother and my grandfather both had diabetes,” she added. “They didn’t really take care of themselves like they should. Health is very important to me. That inspired me when I was younger and I want to take care of people of all ages.”
Guadalupe is a senior at Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School. She works part-time at a local retail business, while being a successful student who is a member of the National Honor Society and the girls soccer team.
Guadalupe will begin her college career this fall and will also seek a career in the medical industry as an optometrist.
Like Tylaseua, Guadalupe’s reason for seeking to become an optometrist is personal, as her grandmother, who died in 2007, lost her eyesight because of diabetes. Although she knew her grand-daughter, she never saw her with her own eyes.
“It’s very important to me,” Guadalupe told the Altrusa members during Thursday’s luncheon. “If I don’t do optometry, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
Guadalupe plans to one day open up her own practice.
Altrusa International was founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1917, according to the official website. Members of Altrusa are united through their dedication, to develop and apply leadership abilities, to capitalize on its worldwide member network and to find partners to help us improve its communities.
This is the second consecutive year the local chapter of Altrusa International, Inc. has awarded two scholarships.