Five SVVSD seniors receive scholarships from American Legion Post 32
May 24—The American Legion Post 32, a veterans' organization in Longmont, recently awarded scholarships to five high school seniors in the St. Vrain Valley School District.
The recipients were Margaret Graves of Frederick High School, Wren Pritchett of Mead High School, Lilyana Sanchez of Silver Creek High School, Max Scherer of Silver Creek and James Wilson of Longmont High School.
They received the Paul David Rodriguez Vietnam Memorial Scholarship, Fred Ehlert World War II Memorial Scholarship, Phil Hart World War II Memorial Scholarship, HM3 Christopher "Doc" Anderson Memorial Scholarship and James B. Clayton Vietnam Memorial Scholarship, respectively.
Each student will receive a one-time scholarship of $2,500, mailed directly to the institution they'll attend in the fall. The award is aimed at helping students start their college experience by covering expenses like textbooks, said Post 32 scholarship chairman Chuck Quire.
"Sometimes all it takes is just a little push," Quire said. "It may be just enough to get them going down the right road to where they can be productive members of society."
Graves will attend the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Pritchett will attend the Colorado School of Mines, Sanchez will attend Colorado State University, Scherer will attend Stanford University and Wilson will attend Brigham Young University.
After receiving applications in March, judges selected the five winners out of around 220 applicants. In addition to an essay written by each student, judges considered their grades, financial needs and recommendations.
"The American Legion wants to support students, so anything we can do to help educate or train younger people is what we're going for," Quire said.
Post 32 has been awarding scholarships to local seniors for over 20 years. Before Quire took over as chairman in 2007, incoming post commander Ralph Bozella served in the role.
"Our scholarship winners for 2023 did an excellent job of answering the essay questions and showing evidence of community service, great character and great grades," Bozella said.
