HANCEVILLE – The 10th Annual Student Investment Luncheon and Auction gathered a total of $199,504 in scholarship funds this year at the Tom Drake Coliseum. The funds go to Wallace State students, dual enrollment students and other projects. The funds are provided by the event’s live and silent auction, scholarship contributions and table sales.
As the live auction bidding began, over a dozen items were auctioned off at various amounts as high as $1,500. “All proceeds from today’s event will benefit the Future Foundation scholarship fund, which will award thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving students this year,” said Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics.
John Meeks, Wallace State men’s basketball coach, served as the auctioneer for the fifth consecutive year. Wallace State cheerleaders served as hosts and hostesses, and current Future Foundation scholarship recipients also assisted throughout the event. Future Foundation President Scotty Hooper said, “No event like this is possible without a strong group of volunteers.”
One volunteer, Taylor Oslin, is a Future Foundation scholarship recipient from Holly Pond High School. She is in the 11th grade and is using her scholarship to pay for a dual enrollment history class. With this scholarship, Taylor will complete a class this semester that will not only count toward high school credit, but also for college credit. She has plans to pursue another scholarship next year because this one has worked out so well for her. She enjoyed the luncheon and said, “Today helped me know who all the donors were.”
Knowing where the scholarship funds come from also means a lot to Morgan Bailey. She, too, is a dual enrollment scholarship recipient in the 11th grade at Holly Pond High School. “I knew some of the people that were here, and I did not know that they were donors. I like understanding where the money comes from,” she said. Morgan appreciates the scholarship donors and likes knowing that the scholarship she worked hard to get can be funded by people she knows in the community. This scholarship will help her with her future college plans after high school.
In addition to the present scholarship recipients, there were cards on each table written by scholarship recipients thanking the donors for their contributions. One student, Dallas Mayer, wrote, “I am honored to have received the Dual Enrollment scholarship from Wallace State. Thank you for choosing me as a recipient for this scholarship. I am very grateful and so are my parents.”
Another student, Kristen Cox, wrote, “Thank you so much for your generous donation to the Future Foundation that is helping me pay for my English 102 class. I am currently a high school senior in a Dual Enrollment class. My future plans are to pursue a degree in nursing. Thank you for your role and generosity in helping me to achieve my goal of a college degree!”
From 2007-2014, the Future Foundation has awarded a total of 1,258 scholarships in the total amount of $727,806.
