Cathedral Catholic’s Scholarship Opportunities program will make available the 2011-2012 school year student scholarship applications on Tuesday March 1. They will be accessible in the Development Office and online for all students wishing to apply.

Scholarships are donated mostly by University High School or Cathedral alumni along with parents of students that attended either school and members of the general public

Assistant to the President Ms. Lindsey Koenigsfeld and Special Events Coordinator Shauna Mattix work together in the Development Office to coordinate the scholarship program. In preparing scholarship applications, the development staff must print copies of brochures the family has given them and print the applications themselves. Once the applications are turned in, they sort through every one to make sure each one reaches the right family or committee for review. At that time, the families have a little over one month to review the applications and make their selections.

Some of the awards are memorial scholarships, commemorating students who benefited either the Uni. or CCHS school and community. In these cases, families may choose to designate the application requirements based upon how their student was involved in high school.

Ms. Koenigsfeld said, “Most of the time, the families will choose the requirements for the scholarship on what their child was like in life or what they feel is important for students to express in life.”

An example of such a scholarship is the Christine M. Ross Memorial Scholarship. Students applying for this grant must show that they have participated in at least one year of athletics and one year of extracurricular activities, just as Ms. Ross did. The is also one of the many scholarships that have been available for quite a long period of time. Ms. Ross passed away in 1985 and a scholarship in her name was established in 1987.

The Christopher Mattix Memorial Scholarship is another memorial scholarship. A plaque that hangs in the lobby is dedicated to Christopher, who has been described as a “star student.”

Some scholarships are based on financial aid, while others are based strictly on grade point average. Each benefactor creates a list of requirements that the prospective students must fulfill. Some requirements include being involved in sports, extracurricular activities, maintaining a minimum grade point average, and being an active member of his or her faith.

Still, other scholarships pertain to a specific field of interest, such as the CCHS Katherine Rubano Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a member of the current junior class who is pursuing a career in the nursing or medical field.

Another popular scholarship that catches the attention of many varsity athletes is the Robert “E” Bull Trometter Memorial Scholarship, which is granted annually to the student who demonstrates responsible citizenship and has at least one year of participation on a freshman, junior varsity, or varsity football team.

Regarding which scholarships are the most popular, Mrs. Koenigsfeld said, “They are all equally popular – just depends on criteria and also how much the scholarship is for. Obviously, the ones that offer more money available do have a lot more responses than others.”

Being on financial aid does not disqualify a student from either applying for or receiving a scholarship, although some require the student to have an essential need for the scholarship.

“Once the applications are in,” said Mrs. Koenigsfeld, “the committee or family will then go through all applications and pick out the student that wrote the best essay as well as met all the requirements in the description.”

The scholarships for the 2011-2012 school year will be available for application on March 1 and the winners will be announced at the annual CCHS spring awards ceremony on May 15. Students with further questions should see their counselors and visit the Development page of the Cathedral school website.