The Quantez Russell Scholarship Fund recently awarded its first round of three scholarships.

The fund received donations from family, friends, community leaders, community organizations, anonymous givers and strangers to provide three $500 scholarships, which were paid directly to the school of each recipient.

The scholarship honors Quantez Russell, a Suffolk native, who has been missing since Nov. 11, 2015.

The recipients were Jean-Mathias Bile’, of King’s Fork High School; Emily R. Owen, of Lakeland High School; and Connor Hatfield, of Nansemond River High School.

The family thanked each person and organization for donating to make this annual scholarship fund in honor of Quantez Russell a wonderful success. The three recipients are all honor graduates and wrote essays suggesting ways to eradicate drug, gang and youth violence in Suffolk.

The family also thanked the committee, including current and retired teachers, for taking their time to read each of the 25 applications and essays that were received.