3 Batavia High School Seniors Awarded Inspire Scholarships

Press release from Batavia Chamber of Commerce:

BATAVIA, IL — The Batavia Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the winners of their Inspire Scholarships for 2023. The scholarship categories are motivated by the makeup of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce membership. All winners are members of the 2023 graduating class of Batavia Public School District 101. The financial award of $1,000 will be paid directly to the institute the recipient will be attending.

According to Margaret Perreault, president and CEO of Batavia Chamber of Commerce, the scholarship committee was impressed by the number and quality of the applicants for this year’s scholarship program.

“We are happy to support our community and our membership with this program,” Ms. Perreault said. “Because we are looking for future inspiring leaders, the scholarship application explored this sentiment. The answers we received were inspirational, making it difficult to choose only one awardee in each category.

“Also, when our businesses share the scholarship program with their employees, it is another opportunity for them to show that they are committed to their employees and their families,” she added. “Therefore, we always encourage our members to share this opportunity.”

The awardees, their intended college and the scholarship category follow.

Inspiring Entrepreneurship: A scholarship to reward a student who has an interest in starting a business to encourage consideration to locate in Batavia someday.

• Alex Haayer is the awardee in this category and will attend Illinois State University as a business-related major with a minor in Spanish. Alex already has experience being an entrepreneur, having started a neighborhood lawn mowing business at age 12 using his dad’s old mower. His business has grown to three commercial-grade mowers, three weed eaters, three backpack blowers and a truck. According to Alex, he has learned the “importance of time management, customer service, and financial planning.”

Inspiring Women in Business: A scholarship to reward a female high school student interested in a business major to encourage more females to pursue these fields.

• Avery Solomon is the awardee in this competitive category and will attend the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa and hopes to pursue a degree in entrepreneurship or marketing. She cited her mom, who manages her own business Wells Technology Consulting Group, as a woman in business to admire. Avery says her mom’s experiences have taught her that women can be successful business owners as well as a supportive parent.

Inspiring Contributors to a Batavia Chamber Business: A scholarship to reward a high school student for working for a Batavia Chamber business during high school.

• Madeline Vaja is the awardee in this category and plans to attend New York University with an individualized major specializing in journalism and international relations. Since July 2021, Madeline has worked at Daddio’s Diner, owned by Scott Beltran. She commented that Scott always inspires her to be a better person and engages and encourages the staff in a positive manner, creating a good experience for her first job.

The three recipients will be acknowledged and presented with their checks at Senior Recognition Night at Batavia High School on Wednesday, May 10 at 7 p.m.

“We sincerely wish our scholarship winners, along with all the top-notch applicants, much success as they continue their educational journey,” summed Margaret. “Congratulations to all!”

This press release was produced by Batavia Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.