Hard working, natural leader, top of the class, passionate, dedicated, athletic, musical. Those are just some of the wonderful characteristics that make up New Providence School students, and there are dozens of scholarships awarded to Seniors who demonstrate a combination of these characteristics throughout their High School experience. It is important for students, especially underclassmen, to know about these awards so they can strive to be their best and reach their fullest potential, hopefully inspiring others along the way.
Mrs. Ellis, the guidance counselor responsible for the scholarship program at NPHS says: “Our local scholarship program has been very successful through the years. Seniors are selected to receive scholarships by either the organization offering the scholarship or the Scholarship Committee, comprised of guidance counselors and administrators at NPHS. These scholarships have various criteria, such as high academic performance, volunteer work, athletic participation, community involvement or a specific ability. Seniors receiving scholarships and their families are invited to attend Senior Awards Night in June.”
On Senior Award Night, representatives from each organization present the students with their scholarships, and despite the name there are opportunities for Juniors to win awards too. Mrs. Ellis explains that “Juniors also have the opportunity to receive awards such as the prestigious Dartmouth and Princeton Book Awards or West Point Academy’s Eisenhower Award. In each instance, the specific criteria are considered and a careful selection is made by the Scholarship Committee. Our students work extremely hard and luckily we are surrounded by generous and supportive community members who choose to honor our dedicated students.”
This year, Senior Awards Night took place on Thursday, June 6. The night was a special occasion that made each recipient truly feel appreciated for the positive impact they had on the community. Many of these honors not only thank students for benefiting the community and inspiring others to do the same, but also encourage a continuation of these attributes in their futures by supporting students in pursuing certain career fields, such as medicine or teaching jobs.
The awards are designed to recognize all different ways a student could make this “positive impact”, ranging from athletic excellence and musicality to leadership qualities and outstanding marks in school. What is truly neat about the Senior Scholarships is that many of them are in honor or in memory of a role model who had a positive impact on the community of New Providence, and now their influence is being carried on to the future through the accomplishments of the award recipient.
Congratulations to all of the winners!