SUBMITTED
Yosemite High School
is pleased to announce that senior Kyle Mosher has been awarded
and has accepted the Marian Swortzel scholarship to Hope College
in Holland, Mich.
YHS career center advisor Stephanie Samuels was very excited about
the award, explaining, “although the trust was established five
years ago, this is the first time that a student from our school
has chosen to attend. We have had applicants in the past. Students
get excited when they hear about the scholarship. But then they
decide that Michigan is just too far from home.”
Mosher is a full International Baccalaureate candidate and was also
on the varsity football team at YHS. He intends to major in chemistry
at Hope College and then go on to graduate.
One of the factors that helped Mosher decide on Hope was the trip
he took over spring break. Hope College paid for him, along with
another interested student and Mrs. Samuels, to visit their campus.
The students met with advisors, attended classes, and stayed in
the dorms. Mosher also met with the football coach and the head
of the chemistry department. It was the small class size, the new
science facilities, and the personal attention he knew he would
receive that helped him decide that Hope College was a good fit
for him.
While there they also met with Kelly Rowland, a senior at Hope this
year who is a graduate of Sierra High School.
“Kelly was very positive about her experience at Hope,” Samuels
relayed. “She said that although at first it seemed far from home,
she quickly adjusted to that.” Rowland said, “I have made so many
good friends here. That is what made all the difference. I might
not have even gone to school if it weren’t for the Swortzel scholarship.
I wish more students would take advantage of it.”
Hope College, established in 1869, is ranked by U.S. News and World
Reports as one of the top 100 liberal arts schools in the U.S. It
is the only liberal arts college accredited in dance, music, art
and theatre. It is ranked fourth nationally for undergraduate research
opportunities as well as off-campus internships. Hope College is
a private, Christian school with 3,500 students. The curriculum
offers a variety of courses in 56 majors leading to a bachelor of
arts, music, science, or science in nursing degree. The college
has long been known for outstanding pre-professional training. Each
year many graduates go on to further study in the leading graduate
and professional schools in this country and abroad; others directly
enter professions. To learn more about Hope College, visit their
website at www.hope.edu.
Samuels explained, “Originally, the trust was also supposed to cover
a scholarship to the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan.”
She continued, “Last year we had four students accepted there and
that is a difficult school to get into. But the financial aid office
at U of M just did not come through with the money as Mrs. Swortzel
intended. It’s really a shame.”
Swortzel, who died in 1997, designated that $100,000 per year for
30 years be set aside to cover the cost of education for a Mountain
Area student to attend Hope College or the University of Michigan.
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