Due to the support of the Medina community, Medina Sunrise Rotary doubled the number of scholarships given out to local graduating seniors this year.
The Medina Sunrise Rotary hands out scholarships on a yearly basis to graduating seniors who have spent time participating in community events, volunteering and contributing to the community through the Service Above Self Scholarship program.
According to Kent Morgan, Medina Sunrise Rotary’s Scholarship Committee chair, the committee looks for students who were involved in community service rather than looking for academics.
“It’s really about giving more of what you have to other people to make their life a little bit more positive and enjoyable for them,” he said.
Morgan said that the committee received approximately 60 applications from students living within the boundaries of Medina Schools, Highland Schools, Buckeye Schools or Cloverleaf Schools.
In past years, the Medina Sunrise Rotary only gave out scholarships to four students each year. This year, the organization gave out eight scholarships on Tuesday at the University of Akron's Medina County University Center.
Medina Sunrise Rotary President Kevin Lauterjung said that when working on the budget this year, the club increased the scholarship budget from $4,000 to $20,000. The organization gave out $15,000 in scholarships during Tuesday's event.
“We’re really thankful for the community that has supported our club, where we’ve been able to raise enough money to be able to increase the scholarships,” Lauterjung said.
Students receiving the Medina Sunrise Rotary Service Above Self $2,000 scholarship include:
- Eve Chester of Medina Schools
- Ethan Michael Ragazzo of Holy Name High School
- Paige Estella Yu of Highland Schools
- Cora Neville of Cloverleaf Schools
- Alyssa Stoner of Cloverleaf Schools
- Emily Hamman of Buckeye Schools
- Nicole Wutz of Buckeye Schools
In addition to the seven Service Above Self Scholarships, the rotary club gave out the Walter J. and Mildred Kanieski Vocational Scholarship of $1,000 to Jozsef Lenarth of Buckeye Schools.
The Walter J. and Mildred Kanieski Vocational Scholarship was created by the Rotary Club of Parma for its former member, Walter Kanieski.
Back in 2022, the Rotary Club of Parma announced its closure and passed the scholarship along to Medina Sunrise Rotary to keep recognizing students who would be going into a vocational school.
After graduation, Lenarth will be attending Cuyahoga Community College for fire and EMS training.
“We're excited to have the opportunity to recognize them and support these graduates as they begin their college careers,” Morgan said.
Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.
