Park City High School has been offering college scholarships to their graduating class for more than 30 years and was able to award 150 last year. Deadlines are ahead for this year’s graduating class and for those who want to help send a student to college. KPCW’s Melissa Allison has more.
Park City High School awarded more than $160,000. in college scholarships to their seniors last year. With only three months left to this school year, scholarship advisor Heather Briley is working hard to reach this year’s goal but only has one week left.
“I’m still collecting donations and I'm reaching out to local businesses and people in the community," Briley said. "I was hoping to hit the $200,000. mark. I do know that we have a lot of new donors and new scholarships so, that’s really my goal, is to have at least a handful of new scholarships every year that we can offer.”
Briley said she won’t turn anyone down who comes in late wanting to offer a scholarship but the program requires her to have them ready before April 1.
About 65 local businesses and individuals participated in the community scholarship program last year. Park City Women’s Business Network has been offering college scholarships to girls for more than a decade and awarded $15,000. in scholarships last year. The network is working to increase this year’s offering to $18,000. and President Kathleen Barlow said, going through the applications isn’t as daunting as some might think.
“We go in one day, we read them, then by the end of the session we narrow it down to the 10 or 12," Barlow said. "Then maybe two days later we go in and interview, so it’s a quick process.”
Learning about the students through the application process has been inspiring for Barlow.
“The amazing girls that come out of the high school and what they do," Barlow said. "What they do in school, what they do in the community, what they want to go out and do after is amazing. And there is so much passion with some of these girls of what they’re about to embark on.”
To help raise enough money to meet their goal this year, the network is having a luncheon on April 11.
“We award the Park City Woman of the Year for the Women’s Business Network and at that event is also a fundraiser luncheon," Barlow said. "It’s our last push because we hand over the money to the school in May. But the public is welcome.”
Briley said sometimes kids don’t even apply for a scholarship due to their academic status or other situations.
“There’s truly a scholarship out there for everybody, just like there’s a college or university for everybody, we just need to find the right fit," Briley said. "That’s something that I try to do, is narrow down scholarship search based on their interest or their major or what makes sense for them so it doesn’t feel like such an overwhelming process.”
Students can apply for up to three of the scholarships.