On Wed., Apr. 28, Newton High School hosted their annual senior awards ceremony in Ravenscroft gym. Seniors are given the opportunity to apply for awards throughout the year through services such as Naviance and numerous awards were handed out. Students who were receiving awards or scholarships and their families were invited to attend the event. In many cases, these awards will help pay for out-of-pocket college expenses including books and dorm essentials.

A large number of students were awarded in coordination with things such as, community service, school involvement, financial need and recommendations. Senior Anthony Wedel says that he received many awards that will help him keep ambitious about community service and school involvement throughout his college years.

“The awards I received were Newton Lions Club Scholarship, Torline Family Scholarship, CTE Scholar and [I was a] National Honors Society cord recipient,” Wedel said. “These awards are going to help me by keeping me passionate about things like community service and school involvement, as well as they will help me have less debt when I am done with college.”

Wedel claims to have applied for about ten scholarships. He said he loved the awards ceremony in general and that it was a perfect way to honor students’ hard work during their high school careers.

“In my opinion, students should apply for various scholarships so that they have a better chance of winning. The more [scholarships] you apply for the more you have a chance to get them and it is a blessing to be able to receive scholarships so you have less debt from college,” Wedel said. “I overall did think that the awards ceremony was a great event. It was a great way to recognize students for their hard work throughout the four years of high school.” 

Senior Tryston Mitchell says he applied for a handful of awards, like Wedel. Mitchell also explains that the typical procedures of the awards ceremony were altered from years past due to COVID-19 safety protocols. He also mentions that after students received the award, they got their picture taken.

“We first went into the gym, had the speaker come up and say a bit about the award, next they handed [the awards] away and finally we got our picture taken,” Mitchell said. “I applied for all the awards I could, which was roughly 15 from the school and many many more outside of the school.”

Senior John Koontz has mixed emotions about the awards ceremony. Although he respects that scholarships were given to worthy students, he did not like or appreciate that certain students only wrote successful essays without being eligible for the scholarship at hand. Koontz says the requirements for the scholarship he received were that he be enrolled in college and majoring in music education.

“I liked and disliked the awards ceremony at the same time. There were many scholarships that went to deserving recipients, and the Athletics Booster Club Scholarship was [renamed] after Fred Becker, which was really cool. I didn’t like that some people just wrote good essays without actually being qualified for the scholarship,” Koontz said. 

Overall, many of the students who applied for scholarships and other awards expressed appreciation for being able to receive them, making education more affordable and less challenging.

“These awards will make college more affordable for me throughout college. I received the awards because I’m majoring in music education next year at Bethel College,” Koontz said.