By: T.J. Hug
The Village Reporter
It was a good year for the senior class of Montpelier High School.
Scholarships were announced during the school’s annual High School Awards Night. While there were multiple students being awarded three or more scholarships, there was plenty of financial aid to go around. In fact, when combining all of the aid handed out at the event, exactly $185,260.95 will go toward building the future of Locomotive graduates from the class of 2015.
Jared Sargent was the big winner on the evening, receiving $60,450 in scholarship monies. The biggest contributor to that total was the Dean’s Scholarship offered by Trine University awarding $11,500 in tuition, renewable over the course of four years. The Williams County Retired Teachers organization and the Montpelier Civic League each gave Sargent a $1,000 scholarship, while the Fred and Shirley Bauer Scholarship promised him $1,500. He also received the Gardner Scholarship, which amounted to $2,800 for each of four years.
Class Valedictorian Jacob Leung earned five digits of collegiate savings as well, bringing in $46,986.56. Most of that total comes from the Ohio State University Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship, which dispenses $40,000 divided over the course of four years. He also accepted the John B. Dwyer Scholarship, netting him $2,000 toward his university education. Fiser Nursing awarded Leung $1,600, while the Claron Fisher Scholarship provided $1,000. The Williams County Franklin B. Walter Award winner, he received $500 for the honor as well.
Marisa Hillard, ranking fourth in the class, will have $19,250 at her disposal come tuition payment time. Her future destination, Miami University, awarded her a $4,000 scholarship, which is renewable for four years time. The Montpelier Rotary Club handed her a $1,000 scholarship, while she won that same amount from the Freeman and Bechtol Scholarship.
Salutatorian Christy Duchene took in $17,926.56 in scholarship monies, including a full tuition award from Northwest State Community College amounting to $11,940. The James L. Best Scholarship gave her $2,000, while the Maumee Valley Vending company offered her a $750 scholarship.
Ranked third in the class, Sidney Houk won $12,600 in awards. The Lesnet Miseta Scholarship was the biggest giver, handing her $10,000. A $1,000 offer was made by the Freeman and Bechtol Scholarship committee. Houk also received $600 from the Montpelier Ministerial Association, and $500 from the First Presbyterian Church of Montpelier.
Sixth in her class, Breanna Stein received $4,750 in scholarships. The Margaret Schwartz, Gipe, and Morgan/Martin Scholarships each awarded her $1,000. A $500 pledge was made to her by the Bill Noethen Scholarship also.
Hunter McKelvey and Jared Shoup each earned $4,600. McKelvey won $1,000 from both the Pauline Winaeler and Morgan/Martin Scholarships. He also received $750 from the area Kiwanis. Shoup accepted a $1,600 offer from the Fiser Engineering Scholarship committee, as well as $1,000 from both the Montpelier Civic League and the Edon Farmers Co-Op.
Several other graduating seniors secured funds for college on the night as well. If this exiting class is any indication of what is going on in the Montpelier School System, the future looks bright for town itself.
T.J. Hug can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com.