Stillwater Area High School Seniors Honored During Scholarship Awards Ceremony

The Stillwater Area High School Scholarship Awards Ceremony for the Class of 2012 was held May 21, at which school staff and community members presented 50 scholarships to 97 graduating seniors.

This event kicks off the commencement season for seniors and has grown each year thanks to generous community donations to honor and remember loved ones and recognize our students’ exemplary service, character, academic accomplishments and entrance into military settings or post-secondary education.

This year, counselor Liz Nelson and the counseling department combined efforts with community members to support the process and award financial scholarships. The teams used careful criteria to determine which students demonstrated capacity and talents to align with specific scholarships. Selected teams of school and community members poured over many applications to award these scholarships.

Additionally, SAHS also presented local scholarships, showcasing the benevolent nature of local business and community members across the St. Croix Valley.

This year’s scholarship recipients together received over $394,000. This amount may grow for those who receive renewable scholarships who also meet additional criteria as they attend college or the military.

In the past, the scholarship night was a small local dinner event with community scholarships and awards given to students. In 2012, the event included over 100 students and over 400 family and community participants in the SAHS auditorium.

Our scholarship recipients attend prestigious institutions after their high school careers at SAHS, continually amazing us with their competitive energy and academic excellence.

One goal of the program is to recognize how deeply rooted SAHS is in the success of our students as they pursue a broad variety of post-secondary choices.

This year, we have two seniors who plan to attend Harvard: Gabriela Ruiz Colon, winner of a Tozer Award for above average scholastic ability, and Eric Corcoran, winner of the James D. Hainlen Award for demonstrating the highest standards of musicianship, character, leadership, and service. Gabriela and Eric are excited to head east this fall with scholarships in hand.

Laura Ruiz Colon, Gabriela’s sister, also received a Tozer Scholarship and the Donna Stenberg Scholarship.

Laura is headed to the University of Pennsylvania and is interested in a career teaching science and math. Laura said that there is a feeling of gratitude and honor in having been able to stand with her sister Gabriela on stage to receive the award.

Although they will be attending separate schools, the sisters are excited for what their unique opportunities will bring.

As a district, we want to thank our families for supporting our amazing students and acknowledge the staff who supported the planning of the event this year including Gayle Solsvig and Nina Giesen and Assistant Principal Aaron Drevlow.

Liz Nelson said that it is a remarkable feeling to be sitting on stage and looking out at the honorees and that she is touched by how hard these students have worked during their high school experiences.

The night honors the dedication of this community to its young people and the many possibilities for our future leaders.

-- Ryan Laager is the principal at Stillwater Area High School