McKeesport College Club presents annual scholarships
Three seniors at McKeesport Area High School were each awarded $1,000 scholarships.
The McKeesport College Club gathered Wednesday evening at the Youghiogheny Country Club for its annual scholarship banquet.
The club’s scholarship program is its oldest and largest community service project. Each year since 1939, the college club has awarded cash scholarships to young women who are graduating from McKeesport Area High School and plan to attend college in the fall.
Diana Lewis serves on the club’s scholarship committee. Lewis said the hardest part of the job is deciding who should receive the awards from the many talented young women who applied.
This year, 15 young women applied for the scholarship.
The committee looks at many factors beside the applicant’s grade point average. They use a spread sheet which factors in the applicant’s extracurricular activities, their community involvement and leadership. The young women each write an essay describing their qualifications for the award and their plans for the future.
They are also asked to provide a recommendation letter from a teacher or other responsible adult. The applicants are interviewed and given the opportunity to explain why they feel they should receive the award. Lewis said the quality of this year’s applicants made this year’s selection particularly difficult.
After a few opening remarks by outgoing club president Paula Robinson, and an invocation offered by Carol Kurinko, the club members, and their guests enjoyed a buffet.
The 2024 scholarship awardees were then each given a $1,000 scholarship.
This year’s awardees are:
• Christina Wos, a member of the band and orchestra at McKeesport Area High School. Wos will be attending Seton Hill University in Greensburg in the fall where she will major in music education. She hopes to share her passion for music as a public school music teacher.
•
Kaylee Charles of Versailles is a member of student council and plays on the basketball team. She is graduating second in her class and plans to attend the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg campus to pursue a degree in nursing.
• Isabella Wanless, an outstanding student, particularly in the sciences. She will be attending the Indiana University of Pennsylvania to pursue a degree in biology. Wanless plans to pursue her education after college and her dream is to become an environmental lawyer.
In her concluding remarks, Lewis quoted the late entertainer, Judy Garland, advising the scholarship recipients, “always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.” She said that the winners received a corsage, a college club pen, a framed certificate and a keepsake intended to inspire the winners during their college years.
The meeting concluded with Robinson symbolically handing over the gavel to the College Club’s new president Judith Bookhammer. Bookhammer thanked Robinson for her service as the club’s president for the last two years.
As a thank you gift, Robinson was presented with a bouquet of roses and a gift certificate to her favorite jewelry store. Robinson thanked everyone who helped to make her tenure as president a success.
The College Club is an organization of college educated women dedicated to supporting education in McKeesport and the surrounding areas. In addition to serving the community, the clubs members share friendship, networking opportunities and social activities.
Membership is open to any woman with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Members don’t have to be residents of McKeesport.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the McKeesport College Club should contact the club’s membership chairperson Jo Ellen Kenney at JEKMcK@gmail.com.
