- December 13, 2025
Remy Battles with Matanzas High School Principal Mike Rinaldi and assistant principals Savannah Brock and Kara Minn. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Remy Battles with guardians Beth Keer (left) and Cheryl Massaro. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Leaders 4 Life Fellow Remy Battles (center) with the Flagler County Education Foundation's Maryiotti Johnson, Selina Hernandez, Teresa Rizzo and Madison Asbill. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Remy Battles with Matanzas High School administrators after she was given the news that she had been selected as one of six students in Florida to win Leaders 4 Life Fellowships. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Teresa Rizzo, Flagler County Education Foundation’s executive director, remembers when Remy Battles interviewed for the Take Stock in Children program.
“I was listening from my office, and I had to come out to see her. I said, ‘This girl is going to be something,’” Rizzo said.
Four years later, Battles has become the first student from Matanzas High School and the third from Flagler County to win a Take Stock in Children Leaders 4 Life Fellowship. She was honored with a surprise celebration from the Ed Foundation on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
“We are incredibly proud of Remy and the dedication, leadership and resilience she has demonstrated,” said Selina Hernandez, the Ed Foundation’s coordinator of the local Take Stock in Children program. “This fellowship will open doors to tremendous academic and professional opportunities, and we cannot wait to see what she accomplishes next.”
The Fellowship provides $40,000 to cover college expenses supplementing the Take Stock in Children tuition scholarship, as well as additional academic and leadership support and networking and internship opportunities.
“I think I’m more excited for the Fellowship part where you meet people and (develop) a lot of connections,” said Battles, who wants to major in journalism and marketing. “I'm really excited for that, because I feel like it's really setting me up.”
The Take Stock in Children program provides a path for low-income students to attend and succeed in college through scholarships, mentors and college and career focused coaching.
Battles had been in a series of foster homes from age 10 before former Flagler County School Board member Cheryl Massaro and Beth Keer took her in through permanent guardianship about five years ago.
“Cheryl and Beth have been there for me. They’re my biggest supporters,” Battles said.
Battles, who has earned her Cambridge AICE Diploma, said she has always been serious about academics because she didn’t want to become “another statistic.”
The Ed Foundation’s Maryiotti Johnson has been Battles’ Take Stock mentor since she was a freshman.
“I'm very thankful for this program, and everything that it's given me,” Battles said.
Each of the 45 Take Stock in Children affiliates around the state nominate two seniors to be considered for the Leaders 4 Life Fellowship.
Battles filled out the application, wrote an essay about what leadership means to her and another detailing her five-year plan and submitted two letters of recommendation. She was chosen in October as one of 12 finalists for the six Fellowship spots. Each finalist received a MacBook. The finalists all did a video interview to help decide the winners.
Battles and the other 2025-2026 Leaders 4 Life Fellows will be honored by the Asofsky Family Foundation, which sponsors the program, at an awards ceremony in Tallahassee in January.
The other Flagler County Leaders 4 Life Fellowship winners were Dylan Long (2021-2022) and his sister, Chole Long (2023-2024), both of Flagler Palm Coast High School.
While Battles said she was surprised by the pop-up celebration at Matanzas — with Massaro, Keer, Ed Foundation representatives and Matanzas administrators and teachers — she said she had an inkling that she was one of the Fellowship winners.
“I had a feeling because everybody in my life is kind of really bad at keeping secrets, and they drop off hints every so often,” she said. “But, also, in my heart, I kind of knew that I got it because I worked so hard that it’s like, why wouldn't I get it?”
