SHS seniors earn more than $3 million in scholarships

SHS seniors earn more than $3 million in scholarships

With earning more than $3 million in scholarships, this year’s graduating class at Scottsburg High School can focus on what matters after graduation — their military careers and their college education — and not the price tag.

By applying for scholarships and earning high marks in his classes, senior Evan Howser was able to have a significant portion of his college education at Purdue University paid for through merit and local scholarships. During the Senior Awards Program at SHS on May 13, Howser was awarded the largest local scholarship, the Dale McNeely Scholarship, available after the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.

“This scholarship is important because it is the highest scholarship available after the Lilly. They have three awards, one for $10,000 (the one I received); one for $8,000; and one for $7,000. This one was especially important for me because that $10,000 will take care of approximately 10 percent of my entire college costs for all four years,” said Howser, who will be majoring in engineering in the fall.

In all, Howser has about $60,000 of his $100,000 education at Purdue paid for through scholarships.

Along with Howser, senior classmate Josie Crawford will also attend Purdue University. During the Senior Awards Program, she was awarded the Melvin and Marjorie Garriott Memorial Scholarship, valued at $3,000.

“It was important to apply for this scholarship because I didn't want to end up drowning in loan debt,” Crawford said. “It still means a lot to me because that's less I have to worry about when going to college.”

Both Crawford and Howser submitted multiple applications for scholarships and received about half of what they applied for, but for the amount of time spent in applying, the return on investment was far greater.

“Students really need to apply for scholarships because they help a lot, and it's free money so there is no harm is applying,” Crawford said.

In addition to Crawford and Howser’s earnings, some of their classmates earned full-tuition scholarships through the Lilly Endowment or through institutions based on their academic merit and community involvement. Senior Jordan Shuler won the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, valued at $104,600, and senior Kaleb Mount was named an Indiana University Wells Scholar. By being a Wells Scholar, Mount will receive full-tuition to IU Bloomington, a one-time stipend of $10,000 for living expenses, a one-time award of $25,000 for foreign travel, and $2,000 to use toward a research project or an internship.