By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Bailey White, an 18-year-old resident of Hebron, is excited to be leaving next month to attend the University of Kentucky as a freshman studying Human Health Services on a pre-Pharmacy track.
Included in her preparations for college was a meeting with Amy Neal Bundy, founder and president of the Bingham Strategy Group, who presented her with this year’s $1,000 scholarship.
“I feel honored to have gotten this scholarship,” Bailey said. “I am not sure exactly what I will be spending the money on, whether it’s books or tuition, or whatever I need to achieve my dream. I will be in the Honors dorm, and I have already found out who my roommate is. It turns out I already knew her. I have known her for many years.”
Bailey’s application was chosen from among about a half dozen other students who attended North Pointe Elementary.
“Bailey’s application really touched my heart,” said Bundy. “She is a high achiever in all fields, but when she talked about working at Colonial Heights in Florence, she said that when one of the elderly residents had a heart attack, she realized she wanted to make an effort to slow down and listen more to what the residents had to say. It isn’t a usual thing for someone so young to be so mature and empathetic.”
In fact, Bailey said that her mom told her she had an ‘empath’s heart’, so she has known that empathy comes naturally to her, and she can understand the emotions and perspectives of others more easily than some other people. She believes it is important to listen and help where she can.
Bailey is interested in horses and children. For a long time, if someone asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would tell them she wanted to be an equine vet.
“But when I got a little older, I realized that I would get queasy at the sight of blood, so then I had to face the fact that maybe being a vet wasn’t the perfect vocation for me,” she laughed. “I still love horses, and I thought I might be able to do medicine for horses. Or I could specialize in pediatrics. I don’t know yet.”
Amy Neal Bundy’s goal to make a difference in a student’s life, and encourage learning started in 2021, when her mother died in January, and her father followed in March.
Her mom, Shirley Bingham Neal, was the last of the Bingham’s, the family that owned the 237 plus acre farm which eventually became the North Pointe Elementary school in Boone County.
Born in Newport in 1936, Shirley and her five siblings moved to the farm in Hebron, and she attended Hebron High School where she was part of the very last graduating class before the school closed.
Bundy said her dad, Ronald Neal, who was born in Newport in 1934, was the first in his family to go to college, and he was a singer and a musician, who learned to play several instruments. He won a scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, but it took him 13 years to graduate since he had to work while finishing his education.
Ronald and Shirley were married for 57 years. They eventually moved in with their daughter Amy once the farm was sold in the late 1990s.
Bundy’s grandparents, Raymond and Shirley, had a library at North Pointe Elementary named after them in 2000, a gratifying honor, since Raymond had a third grade education, and Shirley an eighth grade education. There is also a street in the North Pointe subdivision near the school that is named after them.
“When I was growing up, my parents always allowed my siblings and myself to take part in extra curricular activities to enrich our regular education,” said Bundy. “But there are costs to those extra activities, with tap and ballet shoes, and instruments if you took part in band. Many families cannot afford for their kids to take dance, or music lessons, so when my mom and dad died, people donated money instead of flowers, and we were able to start the scholarship. So far, we have been able to award the scholarship to five students. I would like to think they are up there smiling!”
Bundy would like for the scholarship to be a little more well known. She said Kelly Smith, the principal at North Pointe, has been very supportive and appreciates that Bundy’s message is that education is a powerful thing and should not be taken for granted.
Bailey found out about the scholarship from her mom, who was searching the scholarship spreadsheet that the Counselor at Conner High School set up.
“My mom told me about it so I applied for it,” she said. “I listed all the things I have done, like being a leader in the Future Farmers, being a Kentucky Governor’s Scholar, and having the highest GPA in my chapter.”
She also excelled at public speaking competitions, served as a Fellowship of Christian Athletes student leader, as well as volunteered through church ministries and Go Pantry. In addition, Bailey led the Conner High School’s March Madness food drive which collected about 1650 food donations for hungry families.
Her record of service and achievement made a definite impression on Bundy.
“Bailey reminds us that excellence is about far more than grades or accomplishments,” Bundy stated. “It is found in the way we treat people, the resilience we show when no one is watching, and the quiet commitment to making our communities stronger. She represents everything this scholarship was created to celebrate. The Bingham-Neal Excellence Scholarship is very proud to invest in a young woman whose integrity, resilience, and heart for service promise to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Every little bit helps.”