The Oak Lawn-Hometown PTA District Council is proud to announce the three $1,250.00 Helen Whalen scholarship winners for 2019. Three very deserving District 123 alumni received the Helen Whalen Higher Education Scholarship Award.
The qualifications for applying for this scholarship are graduating seniors who:
- Attended an elementary school in District 123 for at least four (4) years.
- Are in the upper 25% of their class
- Plan to attend an accredited institution of higher education
The committee also considers these factors important in judging the applications and selecting the winners:
- Is a graduating high school senior
- Ranks in the upper 50% of their graduating class at the end of the first semester of senior year
- Plans to attend a community college, university or trades school
- Has attended at least four school years in a District 123 school system.
This year the PTA Council had eleven high school seniors complete the scholarship application. Each student is required to list their honors, positions of leadership, and volunteer work that they have held throughout high school years. GPA and ACT/SAT scores are also factors as well as writing an essay that was graded by a panel of six unbiased judges. The scores were averaged and the highest scoring applications were from Jacob Kuska, Alexander Marchione, and Michael Yerkes.
I would like to thank the District 123 PTA Council for awarding me the Helen Whalen Higher Education Scholarship. I truly appreciate everything the Parent Teacher Association has achieved in furthering the connection of the school community. The Parent Teacher Association created some of my fondest memories at District 123. The financial help from the Parent Teacher Association will help me achieve my goal of reaching higher education,” said Michael Yerkes, a recipient of this year’s award.
The Helen Whalen Higher Education Scholarship has been a part of the District 123 PTA for decades. It is given in honor of a Hometown PTA president that went on to become state District PTA president and School Board president, Helen Whalen.
Helen Whalen Scholarship Winners