Posts Tagged "Scholarship"
Senior Awarded Full Scholarship to Ohio State
March 20, 2024
Most high schoolers have summer jobs for spending money throughout the year.
A lesser amount saves some of that money to use after high school and help pay for college.
For Lake Catholic senior Theresa Lazanich, she’s turned her summer job from the past two years as a caddie at Canterbury Country Club into four years’ worth of full tuition and room and board.
Theresa was named an Evans Scholarship winner at the end of January, and just this past week found out that she will use that scholarship at Ohio State University.
The Evans Scholarship is a full tuition and housing college scholarship for high-achieving caddies. According to the scholarship website, to qualify caddies must meet the requirements of having a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need, and outstanding character.
“I was super excited when I found out that I won the Evans Scholarship,” Theresa said. “And now that I know I’m going to my first-choice school (Ohio State), it’s even more exciting.
“I want to be a physician’s assistant, which will mean extra schooling. So that’s a huge financial commitment. And being the youngest of six kids, this is a huge help for me and my parents.”
Evans Scholars can be found at 24 universities nationwide. Their students live and work together in a community, earning a reputation for scholastic achievement and excellence in community service.
What’s different about Evans Scholars though is that they don’t have the final say on where they attend. Once she received the scholarship, Theresa had to submit a list of her top three school choices – that she had applied for and had been accepted to. Her top three were Ohio State, Marquette, and Miami University.
“I had the choice of Ohio schools or any private or possibly border state schools,” she said. “But I’m glad I got my No. 1 choice.”
Theresa has been around the game of golf since she was a kid, she said. As the youngest in her family, her parents would often take her to the course when they would play. That’s where she learned the game, first hit the ball, and became fond of the game that would become such a big part of her life.
“I started playing when I was really young, maybe eight or nine (years old),” she said. “I would play in leagues throughout the summers and have played all four years here at Lake Catholic.
“When I started playing here, I met a girl from Beaumont, who talked me into getting a job at Canterbury with her.”
So, for the past two summers, Theresa has been at the country club early in the morning and helped members and guests with their rounds of golf throughout. Eventually, it was there that the caddie master suggested she apply for the Evans Scholarship.
“There’s also a ton of members there who are Evans Scholars, so I had a lot of support when I applied,” she said.
All the while, she continued her successful high school career. She was a two-year captain for the Cougars while playing as the team’s No. 1 player. She was named First Team All-Crown Conference in both her junior and senior seasons.
It was after her senior season when she was named a finalist for the scholarship, and she began prepping for her interview at Moraine Country Club in the Dayton area.
“The four green coats (chairpersons) were there, along with 60 other Evans Scholars,” she said. “They all had read my essay and I had to just stand there for 20-25 minutes answering questions about it.”
And from there it was a waiting game – first to be named an Evans Scholar and then to find out she was heading to her first-choice school.
Not too bad for a summer job.
Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve Honors Scholarship Wnners
September 07, 2023
Eighteen Lake Catholic students were honored and awarded scholarships last night by the Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve.
The award ceremony was held at St. John Vianney and then Fr. Tom Johns held a mass for the students, their families and the Christ Child Society.
The chapter of the Christ Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve is an organization primarily dedicated to child welfare. Its motive and spirit shall be a love of Christ expressing itself in personal service for children and youth regardless of race or creed to honor the childhood of Christ.
The 40-year-old chapter serves "one child at a time" through many different programs, including scholarships. Scholarships are offered to students currently enrolled at Lake Catholic and Ursuline College for their current tuition.
Those receiving the scholarships for the 2023-24 school year are: Victor Arenas (Sr.), Carley Dondorfer (Sr.), Joey Lonchar (Sr.), Katie Morgan (Sr.), Alyssa Naro (Sr.), Mia Schaefer (Sr.), Katie Sowko (Sr.), Kyle Boyd (Jr.), Caden Boyes (Jr.), Carson Gilbert (Jr.), Megan Joy (Jr.), Luke Joy (Jr.), Jimmy Meden (Jr.), Angelina Capra (So.), Kaelyn Nemeth (So.), Kiera Nemeth (So.), Brayden Mann (So.) and Robert Vidmar (Fr.).
Football, Basketball Standout Named Winner of Athletic Scholarship
June 15, 2023
Nick Brandt, a standout on the football and boys basketball teams, was recently named a winner of an Ohio High School Athletic Association student-athlete scholarship by the OHSAA's Northeast Athletic District Board's Scholarship Committee.
The award is a $1,000 scholarship, which Brandt can now use as he moves on to Miami University.
He is the second winner to be named from Lake Catholic since the scholarship's inception in 2007. Kennedy Newhart won a scholarship in 2018.
Recipients were selected based on a point system which rewards students for grade point averages; class rank; community service; varsity letters earned; and individual and team athletic honors.
Brandt finished high school with a grade-point average higher than 4.0 and ranked in the top 5 in Class of 2023. In his time at Lake Catholic he earned eight varsity letters (three in football and basketball and two in track and field).
This past season on the football field, Brandt was a jack-of-all-trades on offense. He had 51 receptions for 489 yards and two touchdowns as a wide receiver; he carried the ball 44 times for 179 yards and three touchdowns; and even played quarterback completing 11 of 22 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown. All told he accumulated 777 yards and accounted for six touchdowns.
“Nick was a constant leader for our program - academically and on the field - throughout the duration of his four years at Lake Catholic,” football coach Marty Gibbons said. “He strives to do well and we all look forward to seeing him do great things in the future.”
On the basketball court, Brandt was the starting point guard and captain for the district champion Cougars. He led the team in steals and assists, with his 166 assists making him one of the top assist leaders in Northeast Ohio. He was named to both the Northeast Lakes All-District and All-Crown Conference teams.
“It is very well deserved, but not surprising to me, that Nick Brandt has won the OHSAA Scholar Athlete Scholarship because I was fortunate enough to see daily how hard he works on the court and in the classroom," said boys basketball coach Matt Vespa. "Nick consistently demonstrated that he is not intimidated by hard work or willing to back down from a challenge. I have no doubt he will continue to demonstrate these admirable skills in the next phases of his life. It was truly an honor to not only coach Nick for this season but also to see someone receive the recognition they deserve for all of the hard work they have put into being successful academically and athletically.”
For winning the scholarship, Brandt will be honored along with the other scholarship winners at an awards presentation and dinner at Progressive Field prior to a Cleveland Guardians game later this summer.
photo courtesy of Full Stop Photography
Scholars Recognized at Honors Assembly, National Honor Society Induction
April 27, 2023
Earlier today, Lake Catholic honored a number of academic scholars at a combined ceremony for the annual honors banquet and this year's National Honor Society inductions.
The ceremony was opened with a welcome from Principal Mr. Tom McKrill ('07) and was emceed by Dean of Academics Mrs. Maghen Frindt.
New National Honor Society advisor Mrs. Melissa Grai introduced the newest members of the Lake Catholic chapter. In all, 30 members (11 juniors and 19 sophomores) were inducted. After each was recognized, they, along with all current members who were in attendance recited the NHS pledge.
I pledge to maintain the standards of by which I was selected. To uphold this promise, I will: Pursue academic excellence with diligence and integrity. Lead by positive example; Volunteer my time and energy for the betterment of my community and world; and Employ traits of high character in my words, actions and deeds
Students were then recognized for academic excellence in the classroom throughout the 2022-2023 school year. The Academic Patch or Pin was awarded to students who had achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher for the first three quarters including the semester exam grade. Patches are given the first time a 3.75 is achieved, and a pin is awarded for every year after.
In total 52 freshmen, 25 sophomores, 54 juniors and 65 seniors received his/her academic patch or pin - that's 45% of the current student body who has earned a 3.75 or higher throughout the first three quarters of the school year.
The winners of the Certificates of Outstanding Achievement (the top student in each course) and the Medal of Outstanding Department Achievement (the top student in each department) were also announced.
The ceremony was capped off with eight Guidance Awards for excellent performance in academic activities in the community outside of Lake Catholic High School.
Congratulations to all of our scholars!
TODAY'S HONOREES
New National Honor Society members
Juniors - Juliana Conforte-Polson, Tyler Duricky, Katie Morgan, Gianna Nappi, Dominic Orlando, Cooper Pikor, Joseph Powaski, Taylor Scharf, Josh Styles, Olivia Switalski and Charlie Trinetti; Sophomores - Hannah Aliff, Ava Budrys-Rini, George Csepegi, Brecklin Harrold, Sophia Iannini, Megan Joy, Isabella Leffel, Nicholas Olenik, Julia Oster, Annie Owens, Ace Peterlin, Patrick Radigan, Emily Schoen, Trey Siepka, Caleb Stien, Isabella Trem, Frankie Trinetti, Alexa Udovicic and Sean Walsh.
Medal of Outstanding Department Achievement
English - Chloe Stossel; Health and Physical Education - Tristan Negrelli; Mathematics - Michael Skalicki; Performing Arts - Anna Sanford; Science - Blair Banker; Social Studies - Blair Banker; Techonolgy & Innovation - Anna Sanford; Theology - Camryn Byrne; Visual Arts - Susan Toth; World Languages - Maria Martincic
Guidance Awards
The Yale University Book Award - Zoe Pesek; Cleveland Technical Societies Counsel-Outstanding Junior in Science and Mathematics Award - Johnathan Bokausek; Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar Ambassador (HOBY) - Samantha Martin; Leadership Lake County - Michael Skalicki and Peter Skalicki; St. Michael's College Book Award - Kyan Harrold and Theresa Lazanich; University of Notre Dame Club of Cleveland Book Award - Isabelle Langer; St. Vincent DePaul Medal - Tessa Koenig; The Princeton Book Award - Garrett Knisely
Senior Awarded Full Tuition from Ohio State Scholarship Program
February 01, 2023
A white envelope sitting on the kitchen counter.
When you’ve had a bad day, and you’re tired after a long day of school and work, you never know what might turn that day around – no matter how late in the day it is.
For Lake Catholic senior Tristan Sanders, it was that white envelope sitting on the kitchen counter.
It wasn’t the envelope so much, but it was the letter inside it. The letter that notified her she was one of winners of the Excellence Scholarship through Ohio State University’s Morrill Scholarship Program, which equals full in-state tuition for eight semesters (four years).
The Morrill Scholarship Program (MSP) is Ohio State's premiere diversity/merit scholarship program, rewarding academically talented students who are actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities, according to the program’s website.
“I was having a bad day, and when I got home from work, my mom handed me the envelope and told me I should I open it,” Sanders said. “I didn’t really feel like it, but I took it to my room and laid on my bed. I opened it and started reading it and saw the “Congratulations” and I just started freaking out.”
Every year, Ohio State will have roughly 75,000 total applications to the Columbus campus. Of those, approximately 8,000 students will be enrolled. Out of those 8,000, anywhere between 5,000-7,000 apply for the Morrill Scholarship Program. The program only admits 350-400 students (each earning one of three scholarships), and only 50-60 of those are from Northeast Ohio.
So, the fact that Sanders freaked out is justifiable.
“Full tuition for four years. I still can’t believe it,” she said. “It makes things so much easier for my mom.”
The process for applying for the program was fairly simple. Click the button on the undergraduate application that you want to apply, and then answer the essay question. Answering the question, on the other hand, was the difficult part, as there was a 350-500 word count limit and trying to get her message across while being brief was challenging.
But when it came to answering the prompt – “How have your life experiences and/or endeavors prepared you to be a Morrill Scholar? Please answer fully, and when possible, provide specific examples.” – Sanders said she had more than enough to write about.
“I wrote about my experiences of diversity and inclusion from being bi-racial and not fitting in, the isolation, and racist things I’ve experienced,” she said. “Everything I’ve experienced has motivated me to work hard and be successful – turning tragedies into triumphs.”
The Morrill Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis to students admitted to the Columbus campus for the autumn semester following high school graduation. The program seeks academically exceptional high school seniors who will serve as student ambassadors and champions of scholarship and diversity, according to the program’s website.
As one of the top seniors, academically, in Lake Catholic’s Class of 2023, Sanders said whether she was getting the scholarship or not, she planned on being heavily involved once she arrived on campus in Columbus in the fall.
“I’m planning on majoring in Health Science, because I want to be a dentist,” she said. “So, the program is pretty rigorous, and being involved around campus is important to me too. I was going to be able to meet the requirements for the scholarship once I’m there whether I got it or not, so I’m not worried about that.”
And now, because of the news in the white envelope that was sitting on her counter, she has even less to worry about.
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