Julianna Kearney, a 2016 honors graduate of McIntosh High School, won the Whitey Zimmerman Scholarship from the Atlanta Touchdown Club for student athletic trainers and managers at the club’s June 6 banquet.
The scholarship honors the legacy of Zimmerman, the equipment manager of the Atlanta Falcons from 1966 until his death in 1994.
Kearney, a three-year letter award winner in varsity football, was nominated by head football coach Lee Belknap.
When double patellar realignment surgery sidelined her from ballet in eighth grade, she turned to her other passion — football. She began working as a manager for the Booth Middle School football team in eighth grade and served as freshman/junior varsity manager in ninth grade and varsity student trainer/manager in grades 10-12.
The team awarded her a 12th-man jersey at its annual awards banquet.
Having also served as sports editor and editor-in-chief of the McIntosh Trail, Kearney will attend the University of Alabama as a public relations and sports communication major this fall. She hopes to work for the SEC Network or Major League Baseball when she graduates.
