A cart prepped and full of silverware labeled, Alumni Banquet May 20th, was set on the dock waiting to be pushed out for a dinner that only seniors at SHS would be attending.
The Alumni Banquet Dinner is for seniors who received a scholarship that was either funded by a former graduate or a class of graduates.
Seniors who had previously applied for them will receive the one that best qualifies them; a group of teachers will decide who qualifies for which one.
English teacher Brent Bockleman has worked with the alumni scholarship program for over ten years and has been President for four years.
“I do have a sense of pride because not only do you get to work with the students here, I also get to surface the bridge between the students and the alumni,” Bockelman said. “its really cool to hear some of the alumni stories, folks that have come years and decades before me that are still participating and giving back.”
This year over 200 students applied and many were accepted. Most students have different interests in what they are majoring in and what they are doing in the future which plays a key role in receiving scholarships.
There are many different types of scholarships such as the “Cardinal Pride” one or the Coach Steve Cline one.
Senior Mary Pfeiffer, received the Al Morgan Memorial scholarship for 1,000 dollars.
“My scholarship was for $1,500 or 1,000,” Pfeiffer said, “either way I am really grateful for it because that is a lot of money and I am using it to either buy a computer for college and I am going to use the leftover for textbooks and anything else I need.”
As Pfeiffer finishes up her senior year she will be majoring in health sciences at Butler University and wishes to pursue the health track.
Another senior, George Little, received the Coach Steve Cline Tennis Scholarship since he is a player on the SHS Tennis team.
“I plan on just using it for college, I haven’t got it yet but it will take down the cost of student loans,” Little said.
The scholarships are very flexible and what students decide to spend it on, it is their choice. Some even want to take a senior trip with the money, others want to buy a computer with the scholarship.
Many seniors are looking forward to their college experience and using this scholarship as an opportunity to expand their knowledge by choosing to go to college.
“Our donors, if they can make it, will be there and a lot of times it’s kind of cool because the student gets to meet the donor that funded their scholarship,” Bockelman said.
