Local Scholarships
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The Rotary Club met at the Wakonda Club at noon on April 18, 2013, with President Sharon Vickery presiding. Susan Moritz introduced guests and visitors, and Dr. Edward Hertko provided a stirring invocation and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Rotary’s Four Way Test.
Catherine Staub reminded us to bring our “Baby” to Rotary on May 9th. Catherine also reminded us of our special tour of the State Historical Building on June 6th and our opportunity to host Rotarians in our homes June 17th through the 23rd for “Rotary Goes Home.”
Mark A. Lyons, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, introduced the Rotary Club of Des Moines Foundation Scholarship program for 2013. There is one scholarship recipient from each of the six high schools in the Des Moines Public Schools. The six scholarship recipients receive a $1,000 scholarship for each semester for a period not to exceed eight semesters. Each student must be enrolled full-time in an accredited two or four year institution and maintain a 2.6 or better cumulative GPA. The scholarship money is sent to the college that they are attending for their tuition. All recipients will be required to speak at our Rotary Club sometime before the last semester of their junior year.Money for the scholarships comes from our Rotary Foundation which is supplemented by the $3.00 donation we give in the tumblers each week. Note: The $3.00 weekly tumbler money goes into the Foundation pool which contributes towards these Scholarships and to the Educator of the Year, Police/Fire awards and books Rotary donates for the weekly Rotary programs. RCDM Members’ $25.00 donation a quarter to the RCDM Foundation helps fund a majority of these programs as the tumbler money is not sufficient to cover all of these expenses. The RCDM Foundation also has some restricted funds solely for scholarships that are noted below—The Mianne S. Enyart Scholarship, the James C. Enyart Scholarship, and the Clark Munger Scholarship.
Scholarship Committee members are assigned to the six high schools, and they review each student’s application, essay, and transcript. Each student applicant must demonstrate financial need, ability to succeed (as measured by GPA; ACT/SAT score; character; and persistence), be involved in school and civic activities/employment, and be pursuing a post high school education. The Committee then determines the recipient from the many qualified applicants to receive the scholarship.
Committee member Kelly Sargent introduced Aaron Hosman, the scholarship recipient from East High School. Aaron is involved in numerous school activities and also works part time. He will be attending the University of Iowa in the fall with a major in broadcast journalism. Aaron is the Mianne S. Enyart Scholarship recipient.
Rotarian Sherri Pike introduced Hoover High School’s scholarship recipient Nicholas Crowell. Nicholas has interests in tech theatre, drama and violin. He will be attending DMACC this fall and then on to UNI where he will be majoring in theatre designing.
Matthew Friend, Lincoln High School’s scholarship winner, was introduced by Terry Lebow. Matthew’s activities include being a championship swimmer and mentoring young swimmers. He will be a freshman at Iowa State majoring in civil engineering.
The North High School scholarship recipient is Tulia Mulibinge who was introduced by Dr. Hertko. She and her family escaped in 2008 from war torn Congo, and she is multi-lingual in Kikongo, Swahili, French and now English. Tulia will be enrolled at DMACC this fall with plans to be an elementary teacher. Tulia is the James C. Enyart Scholarship recipient.
Paige Stanton, Roosevelt High School senior, was introduced by Chuck “Charles” Kuba. Paige’s busy schedule includes coaching Dowling High 14 year old volleyball. She has an entrepreneurial spirit and wants to own her own photography studio. She will be a freshman at Iowa State majoring in integrated studio arts and business. Paige is the Clark Munger Scholarship recipient.
Mercedez Hernandez is the scholarship recipient from Scavo High School. Unfortunately she could not attend the festivities today because of her grandmother’s funeral. Ganesh Ganpat related how Mercedez had faced several challenges, but she has now changed direction and is getting excellent grades. Mercedez will be enrolled at DMACC where she will pursue a nursing career.
Today’s announcements of scholarship winners demonstrate that we have good leadership for tomorrow and that our contributions to our Rotary Club of Des Moines Foundation and the weekly $3.00 tumbler is definitely worthwhile.