Each year the graduating class is bombarded with various activities and responsibilities that must be completed prior to walking across the stage for graduation. While these final assignments, projects and speeches may be the first thing on these students’ minds, another part of the graduation process is simply applying for scholarships. Through the platform Naviance, counselors are able to organize scholarships for students to apply to, some being local scholarships made for students graduating from NHS and the surrounding area specifically. 

One of those local scholarships is the Newton Area Woman of the Year Scholarship. The intention of this scholarship is to recognize female full-time senior students who are furthering their careers through higher education, according to the Naviance ad. Interested seniors were asked to submit an application containing various parts in order for the scholarship committee to get to know the applicants and their accomplishments better. This year, three seniors were recognized, Lauren Anton, Savannah Hunsucker and Kaitlyn McMullin.

“The application required an essay about who inspires you to give back to the community for which I wrote about my Ag teachers,” McMullin said. “It also required a YouTube video about your community involvement on top of the typical information such as family information, community service, etc.”

Applications for the scholarship were officially due on Feb. 15. After a little over a month, on Mar. 25, the winners of the scholarship were announced through the social media platform Facebook. The posts included a picture of the senior and a small paragraph about how they have been involved throughout their high school career as well as their future plans.

“I created the best application that I could, but I know that there are many accomplished women at the high school who also submitted applications,” Anton said. “I was very surprised when I got the call saying that I was one of the recipients of the scholarship.”

While each senior has different requirements when it comes to their financial needs, scholarships are a great way to aid in their prospective debt. The Naviance ad announces that the scholarship committee would recognize at most three seniors and give out no more than $1500, a guaranteed minimum of $500 per senior was also included.

“I really appreciated the opportunity that I had to apply for this scholarship,” Hunsucker said. “I intend to attend college out of state, and not many local scholarships applied to me regarding this. However, this particular scholarship did not have a requirement regarding the location of the school, so I was thankful for this. Additionally, I appreciate that they saw value in me to award me money, and I look forward to the connections I will make through the Newton Area Women of the Year Organization.”

After being awarded the recognition and scholarship, each senior is invited to attend the annual Newton Area Women of the Year Brunch. This event recognizes the scholarship recipients as well as the year’s three Newton Area Women of the Year Honorees. This year’s event will be hosted on Apr. 23 beginning at 9:30 a.m. and will recognize the Honorees of Sandie Kueker, Tami Lakey and Susan Lamb. Each senior has the opportunity to give a speech at the event.

“I am very honored to be given this scholarship. It shows how much effort I have put into school and it is paying off,” McMullin said. 

The scholarship money will help each senior in their future endeavors. Specifically, Anton will be pursuing a degree in a health related study from Kansas State University, McMullin will be pursuing a degree in agriculture education from Fort Hays State University and Hunsucker will be pursuing a degree in general business with a pre-law track and a potential minor in prevention science from either the University of Denver or Southern Methodist University.

“This award will assist me in my future endeavors by simply making college more accessible for me,” Hunsucker said. “As we all know, college is incredibly expensive, and with this scholarship, the burden of student debt is relieved just a bit. Additionally, this award is assisting in a college education that will spark my future career, and I think that that is worth a lot.”