As we get closer and closer to the final day of classes for the students in Greene County, many high school seniors are receiving scholarships to further their education.
The Greene County Foundation is giving out over $60,000 in scholarships to graduating high school seniors and have said that over 55 students have applied.
We will be highlighting the scholarship winners in the coming weeks and will begin with the Linton seniors Aubrey Walton, Isabel Meek, Kayla Smock and Chaisey Wasnidge.
Aubrey Walton, Kayla Smock and Chaisey Wasnidge each received the Phil Harris Scholarship along with Kailyn Cooksey and Jacie Fonderhide.
Walton said of the honor, “Winning any scholarship I think is very rewarding and shows that everything we do in school is for a reason and can give us an outstanding award as long as we work hard. To me, it just is the face of all the hard work I have put in for so many years.”
Kayla Smock received the Mayor Robert and Marjorie Walters Memorial Scholarship and Tonda Lawrence Memorial Scholarships to go along with receiving the Phil Harris Scholarship.
“Winning those scholarships is extremely gratifying to me,” Smock said. “One it will help me through college financially. Aside from the financial aspect, seeing my hard work pay off is truly rewarding. It is also rewarding to know that others see the time and effort I put in and to know it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Isabel Meek received the Linton-Stockton Special Achievement Scholarship.
“It is an honor to receive this scholarship as I know they will be extremely helpful in lowering the cost of my college education,” Meek said. “I am very grateful to the selection committees who made this possible for me.”
Wasnidge received the Mirisa Jones Memorial Scholarship along with the Phil Harris Scholarship.
“It means so much to me to receive these scholarships, especially because of those who they honor,” Chaisey said. “I am so grateful to be the recipient of these awards and to represent Phil Harris and Mirisa Jones.”
In these troubling times of uncertainty, now more than ever high school seniors are seeing the importance of scholarships and are looking to pass along what they’ve learned to the younger students.
“It is important to fill out scholarship forms. It’s not fun, it takes a lot of time, but it’s very rewarding,” Walton said. “It’s important because it’s something to show for how hard you work in and out of the classroom. For many people, college is very expensive and if that is something that one would like to pursue, I think it is very helpful to fill out as many forms as possible to keep your debt to a minimum when you get older.”
“It is extremely important for younger students to fill out scholarships,” Smock added. “To receive a scholarship is not only rewarding, but it also helps to alleviate added stress that comes with college. When filling out the applications, I did not expect to even receive one of them let alone three. It’s important to fill them out not only to help financially but it also helps just learning to fill out applications and write in a more professional aspect. Even if you don’t receive anything, it helps build your academic profile which will always serve to benefit you in the long run.”
“Filling out scholarships, especially local scholarships is very important,” Meek added. “Scholarships are very rewarding and help tremendously with the rising cost of college. While filling out scholarships may be time consuming, it is well worth it in the end. I would encourage everyone interested in college to apply for as many scholarships as possible.”
“I think it is extremely important for seniors to fill out scholarship applications,” Wasnidge added. “It takes a lot of time and dedication but it is absolutely worth the effort. I am less stressed about my funding for college and excited to start my journey at Indiana University.”
The Greene County Foundation has been announcing their scholarship award winners on their facebook page all week and will be announcing the winners from White River Valley High School Friday afternoon.
The Greene County Foundation is also currently taking applications for scholarships for current college students. Visit www.greenecountyfoundation.org to apply.