Middle Park High School recently held their graduation ceremony for 2017’s senior class.

As the young students head out into the adult world, and begin their college careers, they will have some monetary help from local groups behind them. Just three days prior to graduation Middle Park held their annual Awards Ceremony on May 31 to recognize the scholarships the seniors would be receiving from local entities. This year Middle Park’s seniors received a total of $91,400 in local scholarship offerings, up significantly from last year’s total of $66,800.

A total of 30 graduating seniors received scholarships from local groups this year. The scholarships themselves ranged in value from $200 to $4,000. Ashley Trotter’s was the student to receive the largest total scholarship offerings at $12,000.

The scholarships handed out at the Awards Ceremony are derived entirely from local entities. The $91,400 figure does not include more general academic scholarships or scholarships from specific universities or colleges. Instead the Awards Ceremony recognizes the largess of local groups, mostly nonprofits, who have set aside funds for deserving young scholars.

The ceremony is somewhat secretive with officials from Middle Park High knowing which entities will give out scholarships but in most cases not knowing who will receive the scholarship until the announcement is made during the ceremony.

“We actually don’t know for everyone,” Ben Polonowski, Middle Park High Counselor said. “Sometimes it is a surprise to us too. We known which entities will be giving out scholarships but we don’t know who will receive it until that night.”

Polonowski explained most entities send representatives to the event to make the announcement but when schedules conflict school officials will make the presentations on their behalf. Each of the scholarships handed out require applications, which the students completed themselves throughout the course of the year.

The disbursement of the scholarship funds varies depending upon the scholarship in question. Polonowski noted some disburse funds directly to the student’s chosen college or university while others disburse the funds directly to the students.

Polonowski, who handles counseling duties at Middle Park along with fellow Counselor Jackie Schnellinger, was thankful for the help of others district employees for their hard work as it relates to the scholarships, highlighting specifically the efforts of Registrar’s Sarah Miller and Cindy Greiner as being, “instrumental in organizing submitted student applications and getting them into the hands of sponsors.

Polonowski was also thankful of the efforts of the Fraser Valley Lions Club, “especially Bob Boynton, for coordinating this year’s scholarship fair.”

Local entities that provided scholarships for graduating seniors includes: Changes, Climax, Colorado Headwaters Land Trust, Colorado State Fund – PEO & PEO Chapter IX, East Grand Board of Education, Edge Elite, Elks, EAA, Fraser Valley Lions Club, Grand County Board of Realtors, Glen F. Menhennett Memorial, Grand County 4-H, Grand County Builders Association, Grand Foundation, Grand Mountain Bank, Independent Sports Club, Middle Park Medical, Meredith Schneller Memorial, Mountain Parks Electric, Middle Park Alumni Association, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, Rotary of Granby, Rotary of Grand Lake, Winter Park Alpine Art Affair and Winter Park Resort.