Surprise! Monroe HS senior shocked by sneaky scholarship reveal
Mar. 18—MONROE -Monroe High School senior Lindsey Bevak suspected something was up.
The star soccer player was recently called out of class by Monroe Principal Tom Prohaska to stop by his office one afternoon, but with no details as to why.
When Bevak showed up, the principal said he just found out the school's athletic director needs to see both of them right away in the high school auditorium.
Led by Prohaska, they walked on to the stage area where suddenly its giant curtains were yanked aside and Bevak was suddenly facing a cheering crowd including a giant "lion."
But there was no danger, only the once-in-a-lifetime thrill of finding out she had won a full scholarship to Cincinnati's Mount St. Joseph College, which has a Lion as its costumed mascot.
Monroe school officials posted a video of the surprise on YouTube.
Among those leading the applause were top Mount St. Joseph officials backed by a gleeful gathering of Bevak's soccer teammates, teachers, friends and family.
"I knew something was going on, but I didn't exactly know what. It was all super surprising," said Bevak, who will graduate soon with a 4.0 GPA and plans to study bio-medical sciences and play soccer for the western Hamilton County college.
"It was pretty cool," said the 17-year-old, who is also a Monroe student council vice president and volunteer tutor for junior high students.
Her principal said it's all deserved.
"We are very proud of Lindsey's accomplishments, and it's great to see her hard work and dedication pay off in the form of this incredible award. Mount St. Joseph is getting a fantastic student athlete," said Prohaska.
Monroe High School girls' Varsity Soccer Coach Stacey Williams was there and said there was no mystery about the big turnout of supporters for star senior.
"Lindsey is goal-driven and pursues excellence both on and off the field. She is respectful and would do anything for her teammates," said Williams.
"Her caring nature is reflected in her choice to pursue a career that will enable her to always help others."
Her mother, Becky Bevak, said the only difficult part of the surprise scenario was she and her husband — and their younger daughter — having to keep the good news secret in the week leading up to the big reveal.
"That was hard but it was fun," she said. "I was so excited for her with all the people who turned out."
The soon-to-graduate senior said "I didn't think they would all be there."
"It was good to see all the people who have supported me all along my journey because I know I wouldn't have been able to get to this point without all of them."
