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Local community gives graduates a head start |
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Thursday, 18 June 2009 |
 Photos by Susan Morning. The Mammoth High School Boosters gave 25 scholarships totaling about $14,000.
During the ceremony, 37 organizations, charities, nonprofits and businesses awarded upwards of $650,000 to members of the graduating class.
The majority of that total came from the U.S. Air Force as it awarded approximately $400,000 to Kaylee Taylor and Lane Jacobson to fund a four-year education. Taylor will attend Loyola Marymount through the Air Force ROTC program and Jacobson has received an Air Force Academy appointment.
The rest of the funds – “a good $150,000,” estimates Mammoth High School Academic Guidance Specialist Sharlean Magid – is all from local support.
“This is really unusual and it’s a large amount for a small community,” Magid said.
Scholarship presenters ranged from school groups to community service organizations, memorial scholarship funds, local businesses and town employee associations.
“They really feel it’s important to support the students. I think that’s what’s great about a small community.”
The Senior Breakfast/Scholarship Awards event has been going on for at least 20 years, though Magid couldn’t not be certain when it first began.
“It’s grown,” was one thing she was certain of. “When I first saw the program, there were 10 entities listed. This year it was 37, and many give multiple scholarships.”
To qualify for a scholarship, all the students need to be pursuing some kind of further education or career training and must submit a six-page application with an essay. In addition to some groups conducting personal interviews, some of the criteria used by the presenters are: future career or focus of study of the student, work history, extra-curricular activities, what institution they’ve been accepted to, financial considerations and academic statistics. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 26 June 2009 )
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