Six high school seniors across the local area received quite the surprise this week.
Representatives of Emporia State University paid a visit to four area high schools Monday to award the third iteration of the Jones Premier Nursing and Education Scholarships.
Receiving scholarships is:
*Emporia High School senior Diane Camarena, who plans to pursue nursing.
*Hartford High School senior Maricela Munoz, who is planning to pursue art education.
*Marais des Cygnes Valley High School seniors Kadence Masenthin, who is planning to pursue nursing and Ella Reed, who plans to pursue elementary education.
*Santa Fe Trail High School senior Vanessa Roberts, who plans to pursue music education.
The Jones scholarships provide a full-ride for each student covering the cost of tuition, fees, room and board, books and other expenses after the application of any other scholarships or grants. It also grants automatic enrollment into the ESU Honors College.
The scholarships are available to any seniors who live in the three counties served by the Jones Foundation — Lyon, Coffey and Osage — with recipients selected by a panel that reads their essays that answered two questions:
1. Why have you chosen to enter the teaching or nursing profession?
2. How will the Jones Foundation’s investment in your education help improve lives in your community?
Tuesday, a sixth presentation took place at Santa Fe Trail High School, where senior Alex Strother received the ESU SMART KS 21 program scholarship. The scholarship was made possible through a $500,000 grant from the Kansas Legislature to increase interest in students to pursue science as an educational and career path.
