The Nitty Gritty

Jill McDonnell details the scholarship application process.

Spring is just around the corner (I think), and along with St. Patrick's Day, March Madness, and the temps reaching a balmy 40 degrees (I live in Chicago now, so my barometer of temperature acceptability has gone way down), another one of the hallmarks of this season for me is selecting our scholarship recipients.

We're in the midst of accepting applicants for the four scholarships in honor of Ryan, Eric, Bobby, and David right now, so I wanted to give you all a rundown of how the process works. And even though this May will mark eight (EIGHT!) years since we passed through the hallowed halls of Lafayette, perhaps you have a sibling or friend who might be eligible for one of the four $500 scholarships we offer. Please contact me at mcdonnell.jill@gmail.com if you'd like more information to pass on to a potential applicant. Applications are due March 11th.

This is the third year we've gone through this process, and we will be awarding our 8th through 11th scholarships at Lafayette's annual Senior Awards Night, which falls on Wednesday, April 21. Every February we work with Lafayette's college specialist, Beth Brasel, to update each scholarship application. Ryan's scholarship recognizes a student who shares in the passion he had for ROTC; Eric's scholarship is given to a student who attended Rockwood schools K-12 like he did; Bobby's recipient must demonstrate Christian values through leadership; and David's scholarship is awarded to a student who holds a part-time job in addition to placing great importance on their studies. All applicants must have a minimum accumulative 3.0 GPA, one recommendation letter from a staff member, and submit a 200 word essay on what the scholarship would mean to them and how they exemplify the values of the particular scholarship for which they are applying.

After all the applications are collected, we convene the scholarship fund committee: Rich and I, the parents of the boys, Beth and Dr. Tim Jones, the senior class principal, to read through the applications to determine who is the best fit for each scholarship. This is not an easy task, as so many of the applicants are hard working, smart, and caring people! An applicant's financial situation also comes into play, especially in light of the current economic conditions. Our group discusses each applicant and ultimately arrive at a decision.

A few weeks later, at Senior Awards Night, we present the scholarships to the recipients. Every year I prepare a speech to deliver that, while brief, lets this new crop of seniors and their families know why we do this. Why we created this fund: to honor our friends through giving back. It's also an opportunity to encourage this class, the Class of 2010, to give back to Lafayette.

I consider it an enormous honor (I know Rich does too) to be able to work on behalf of you all to keep the memory of our friends alive and to keep us, the Class of 2002, connected. We'll be sure to keep you in the loop as planning gets underway for our next event, a trivia night to be held this summer.

Thank you for reading, and as always, thank you for your support of this fund.

Jill McDonnell