1st Annual City of Whiting Scholarships Awarded

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Mayor Joseph M. Stahura and the members of the Whiting Common Council are pleased and proud to announce the inaugural winners of the City of Whiting Scholarship. Ryan Willoughby and Haleigh Suarez of Whiting High School Class of 2009 were the first recipients selected for the new scholarship offered by the City of Whiting. Council President Chris Sarvanidis presented plaques to the winners at the graduation ceremony held at Whiting High School on June 7, 2009. The scholarship program was developed by the Mayor and the Common Council this year to reward students of Whiting homeowners. The scholarship emphasizes academics, school leadership and community activities. The award is funded by contributions from the City of Whiting, the Whiting/Robertsdale Community Improvement Corporation, BP Foundation, and other local corporate donors. Councilman Sarvanidis stated It was an honor and privilege to present these inaugural scholarships to Ryan and Haleigh on behalf of the great City of Whiting. We are extremely proud to be a part of the secondary education of our future leaders . The City of Whiting Scholarship is an $8,000 award which disburses $2,000 each August for four consecutive years. Winners continue award eligibility by attending college on a full-time basis and maintaining a 3.0 grade point average. A selection committee reviewed the submitted applications and applied the selection criteria. It was a difficult process because there were many qualified candidates. In the end, we selected the students who presented the most involvement and leadership in the community stated selection committee member Tom Keilman of BP. The winners were both Top Ten students and were involved in a variety of activities at school as well as in the community. Both students will attend Purdue University West Lafayette. Ryan intends to major in civil engineering, while Haleigh will be studying nursing. Click here to view photo