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Their feathers are still fine and not yet toughened by the elements, but the time is soon approaching when high school graduates will be leaving the nest to fly with wings of their own. Some have already been groomed to meet the high winds of responsibility head on.
To assist local youth on their journey, the Victoria Chamber of Commerce gave five scholarships in June. It's the first time ever in the history of the Chamber that it recognized and honored young people in this manner. Proceeds from the Chamber's annual celebration, "A Touch of Bavaria," made the gifts possible.
Applicants for the scholarships were solicited through the Gazette; thirteen Victoria youth responded. A team of three Chamber members did the ranking and interviewing. That team was com-prised of Pastor Frank Jones, President Laura Wood, and Wayne Larson, executive director of Mount Olivet Rolling Acres.
These scholarships, totaling $4,000, were only available to Victoria seniors who acquired a GPA of at least 3.0 and plan to pursue a post-secondary educa-tion. Community service, extra-curricular activities, and written recommendations from others were among the other deter-mining factors.
There is another particular scholar-ship that has been awarded to a Victoria student each year since 1997. It is called the Eric J. Wilhoit Scholarship in memory of the young Victoria resident killed in a car accident on October 29th, 1996, one month shy of his 21st birthday. His parents are John and Terry Wilhoit of Victoria.
Said Terry, "The fund is managed by the St. Paul Foundation. It will go on forever." The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a Victoria student through School District #112. The student must exhibit leadership qualities and have lettered in at least one sport.
All six of the students who were awarded Victoria scholarships this year happen to be graduates of area public schools. Both private and public school students will again be eligible in June, 2003.
The Gazette formulated a few ques-tions for the young scholarship winners, in order to give us an imprint of the nest they will be leaving and the flight that lay ahead of them. I asked mainly about important people in their lives and what they learned from them ... Click here to continue.
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