Senior gets $10,000 surprise

James Dougan was hunched over a lab table in science class yesterday, concentrating hard on the assignment in front of him, when some strangers walked in carrying a big cardboard check.

A look of confusion, followed by a smile, spread across James' face when he realized the check - in the amount of $10,000 - was for him. The Chesapeake High School senior had won the cash from Nordstrom, which gives out scholarship money to 40 students every year.

"I don't even know what to say - $10,000 is definitely going to help with college," the 17-year-old from Pasadena said as his classmates cheered.

"Colleges and universities aren't cheap, so this will definitely come in handy," said his mother, Katherine Dougan.

The department store chain hands out the scholarships in states where its stores are located.

"I've gone to Nordstrom, shopped there before," James said. "I was kind of surprised that a clothing store would offer college scholarships."

Jerzy Romanowski, diversity affairs director for Nordstrom's East Coast office, said this is only the second year the company has given out scholarships in Maryland. James is the first Chesapeake High student to receive one.

Two hundred students in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., applied for the scholarship, and James was one of five recipients from that region. To be a candidate for the scholarship, students must have a grade-point average of 2.7 or higher and be involved in extracurricular activities.

"He had an unbelievable application," Romanowski said.

James wrote in his application that his life changed the night of Nov. 30, 2007, when his father died of a heart attack. It was the day after James told him he'd been named captain of Chesapeake's robotics team.

"He suffered from a heart attack onboard an airplane, which is quite a coincidence because when I graduate from college I want to be a pilot," James wrote.

The loss of his father's income has been an adjustment for the family, which includes 13-year-old triplets. So a scholarship like this one is a big relief, James said.

He's been accepted to Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., and is waiting to hear whether he got into Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He plans to major in aeronautical science.

Michele Devine, adviser to the school's robotics team, learned of the scholarship last year through the guidance office. Only high school juniors can apply, so she told James about it.

"The academics, rigor and time commitment for a (robotics team) member is by far the most challenging commitment a high school student can make, and James fulfilled all the requirements while maintaining his academics in challenging honors courses," Devine wrote in James' letter of recommendation.

James submitted his application early this year, and learned this summer he was a finalist.

Nordstrom officials notified his mother and Devine several weeks ago, but ordered them to keep the news a secret so they could surprise James in class.

"That's how we do it," Romanowski said. "We call it the prize patrol, like Publisher's Clearinghouse."

Devine said she had a hard time staying quiet.

"I wanted to tell him immediately," Devine said.

But she kept her lips zipped, and even convinced James to wear a shirt and tie to school Wednesday for the check presentation.

"That's not his typical attire," she said with a laugh. "I told him we had a meeting after school to introduce him to some people in the aviation industry."

She sure fooled him, James admitted.

"Yeah, I was surprised," he said, smiling sheepishly.