Platte Valley scholarship applications may increase

Scholarship programs in the Platte Valley are most likely seeing an increase in applications this year.

Saratoga Middle/High School (SMHS) counselor Dan Marquart has teamed up with SMHS history teacher Jason Williams, who is requiring his students to apply for 10 scholarships. It has been successful, Marquart said, because he is seeing more scholarship applications and handing out more transcripts than he has in the last several years.

Completing scholarships can be a daunting experience for students, Marquart said, so encouragement from parents is highly recommended.

The school’s website has all of the scholarships available listed for students and parents to access.

The awareness is the first and foremost important tool for parents. “It’s kind of like homework,” Marquart said. “A kid comes home and says ‘I don’t have any homework.’”

If the parents had a resource to see-that is the key. Parents can look up the scholarship and ask their student if they have applied for this scholarship and set some goals for the student.

“Take an interest in … sometimes we get busy and have our lives to work on. If we stop and take 10 seconds to say ‘how’s it going with your scholarship application?’ That can make a huge impact on the kids.”

Marquart said he encourages the students to keep all of their doors open, even if they are not planning on attending college right after high school.

“Some of these scholarships can be deferred to down the road, so I do encourage them to apply and stay eligible for the Hathaway [scholarship], because they have the two-year deferment,” Marquart said.

Some students after being in the workforce for a year come to the realization they do need some training and they have those options still available to them.

“I try to keep all the doors open for all the kids when they graduate,” Marquart said.

Parents who don’t know how to complete a scholarship application can contact Marquart for advise. “I love it when parents contact me,” Marquart said.

 

Reader Comments(0)