PALM COAST, Fla. (January 19, 2024) – Who doesn’t love Fridays? Chloe Long’s got a little bit sweeter when she was surprised with the news that she was among six students selected in the state of Florida to be a Take Stock in Children Leaders 4 Life Fellow.

The Flagler-Palm Coast High School senior becomes just the second Flagler Schools student in the history of the program to be selected.

The first?

Her brother Dylan Long in 2022.

Proud family, Flagler Schools and Flagler County Education Foundation Administrators soak in the good news.

Surrounded by mom Amy, her siblings and grandparents Tim “Taco” Smith and Linette “Bob” Smith, it was almost too good to be true.

“It was amazing when Dylan got it two years ago but now to have Chloe get it, it’s just unbelievably amazing,” said Linette Smith. “It’s just tears of joy. It’s going to help them so much because she’s a single mom.”

Administered through the Flagler County Education Foundation, the Take Stock in Children program pairs a mentor with a student for their four years of high school. For Chloe Long, that mentor was Flagler County Judge Andrea Totten, on hand for the announcement.

“I’m so glad that I got to be her mentor,” said Totten, praising Chloe’s maturity.

“She’s made it really easy on me. She’s a great student, she’s a great person, she’s involved in the community, she’s involved in all kinds of activities at school. We meet, I’d like to think she’s getting something out of it but you know, I’m getting three-fold back. It’s such an honor to be her mentor.”

Flagler County Judge Andrea Totten and Chloe Long teamed up for the Take Stock In Children Program.

With 75 in the program, and 25 set to graduate, Flagler County Education Foundation Executive Director Teresa Rizzo hopes to see the program continue to grow with the support of community.

“We are absolutely honored and thrilled that Chloe is the second sibling in a family to receive this,” said Rizzo. “I know that there have been other siblings but never a brother-sister who have received it.”

“Out of 100 applicants across the state to be selected as a finalist of six, and this opportunity she gets to have leadership training, a college scholarship for four years, and she’s already received a laptop, it’s just such a great opportunity for her.”

The timing was especially poignant for Teresa Rizzo, whose husband Joe Rizzo served as the foundation’s executive director before his passing two years ago. Joe was passionate about the foundation’s work and made it a mission to grow the Take Stock in Children program alongside philanthropists Peter and Sue Freytag. Teresa received the notification of Chloe’s selection the day before the announcement, on Joe’s birthday.

“To know that we are giving students who are probably first-generation college students in their family an opportunity to succeed and accomplish their goals, and then come back to our community and give back to us, it’s just priceless,” she said.

“I had to call Caroline and tell her because her daddy would be so thrilled,” she said through tears. “Dylan winning was Joe’s highlight and for Chloe to get it yesterday on his birthday was just fantastic.”

Celebrating the Long family’s achievements, there’s one sibling left who is also following in her older siblings’ footsteps.

“Dylan has always been a good role model. When he won the scholarship and he was the first person in Flagler County to win the scholarship, it was a huge deal then and it was just like ‘I want to be like him’,” shared Chloe.

“Ever since then, just watching him go through the program, he did IB like I did, he did Take Stock just like I am. I’m not trying to be him, but a lot of the things he did academically, I’ve followed in his footsteps because he paved such a great pathway.”

Chloe says she was inspired by Dylan’s example and her younger sister Brianna is working hard to live up the example set for her.

Proud mom of two Take Stock In Children Leaders 4 Life Fellows, Amy Long chats with son Dylan Long and Chloe Long after the announcement.

“I’ve been in Take Stock for four years now, both of my siblings are in it, so I’ve really gotten to see all the benefits there are to the program,” she said, considering the college workshops and tours an added benefit of the program in addition to the mentorship.

“It’s really helped me get an idea of where I want to go and what college is going to look like,” said Chloe. “Meeting with my mentor, Judge Totten, she has been amazing for me the past four years and really been an anchor for me.”

As for her future, her heart is set on a career as a pediatric nurse. 400 hours of community service solidified her love for helping others and she’s ready to make a career of it.

“Most of those hours have been me volunteering with kids. I started a couple of clubs and worked with the elementary schools on a variety of different topics and I do a lot of volunteering with National Honor Society and stuff like that. That’s really what brought my attention to helping kids, especially underserved kids,” she said.

“I think the moment that I realized I probably wanted to work with kids was when I was volunteering with the Surfers for Autism event. Just helping those kids and seeing how excited they were to have someone just be there for them really motivated me to that for the rest of my life,” said Chloe.

She’s already been offered a top merit scholarship to the Florida State University, and hopes to attend the University of Florida, just like her brother. As the second set of siblings to win a fellowship, the Long family is making history, one student at a time and Chloe encouraged others to maximize their opportunities.

“I can go to college now without worrying about my finances, and focus on my studies,” she said. “I think that everyone who is offered the opportunity should do Take Stock. It is a commitment, but it is definitely worth it.”

With a mission of breaking the cycle of poverty through education, Teresa Rizzo and members of the education foundation are committed to ensuring the best outcome for every student in the Take Stock In Children Program.

It doesn’t mean they aren’t looking ahead to the lucky stars with one more Long family student in the pipeline, optimistic.

“Not to put any pressure on her but we would love a three-peat. That would be amazing,” she said.

For more information on the Take Stock In Children Program, visit www.FlaglerEdFoundation.org.