The Scottsburg High School Class of 2017 wanted to do something that made an impact on future graduates heading to college. They wanted to help others.
“…Instead of buying gift bags that kids would lose or throw away, we decided to do something more responsible and meaningful,” said Alexa Howser, SHS Class of 2017 president.
The class took its more than $1,100 and donated to the SHS Alumni Association to use for scholarships, giving back to future SHS graduates.
“The Alumni Scholarship is important to our class because during senior year our class realized how expensive college is. Many of us were fortunate enough to get various scholarships, including some from the Alumni Association,” said Howser, who received a 4.0 GPA Scholarship from the Alumni Association before going to Indiana University Bloomington this fall.
The Class of 2017 worked throughout their high school years to raise enough money to pay for prom, the senior trip, and other expenses. After all the costs, the class still had money leftover after graduation that could not be used on future reunion events.
“Instead of wasting it on meaningless trinkets for our class, we decided our money would be better spent by donating it to the scholarship fund,” Howser said.
As full-time college students, the SHS Class of 2017 wanted to help other students reach their dreams of going to college and making a difference in the world through their future careers.
“Seniors in the classes behind us will benefit from this,” Howser said. “It will be going to deserving students to pay for college.”
With the cost of college increasing each year and students looking for other ways to pay for college other than through loans, graduating seniors are working harder to earn scholarships and grants to pay for college. According to CollegeBoard, the average cost of college tuition and fees for private universities is $32,410 per year. If a student attends for four years for a bachelor’s degree, it would cost $129,640 to earn the degree at a private university.
“We knew how impactful it would be to donate our money to a scholarship fund and how grateful the people who get to benefit from this money will be,” Howser said.
For decades, the SHS Alumni Association has given scholarships to graduating seniors. The Alumni Association has awarded more than $41,000 in scholarships and has established an endowment fund through the Scott County Community Foundation to ensure scholarships can continue for years to come.
Leave a Reply