Lincolnshire Rotary scholarships help in tough times

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Cole Deloye and Kayla Reinherz from Stevenson High School won last year's Rotary Club scholarships. | Contributed photo

Updated: March 24, 2012 8:11AM

As parents and high school students search for creative ways to pay for a college education, a local Rotary Club and its partner are lending a helping hand and a checkbook. In fact, the Rotary Checkbook is one of the ways these scholarships are being funded.

For the last three years, the District 103 Learning Fund Foundation and the Lincolnshire Morning Star Rotary have sold the popular Rotary Gift-Checks. Each Rotary Checkbook contains up to 30 “same-as-cash” offers from local restaurants and merchants valued at more than $500.

Proceeds from the sale of the Rotary Checkbooks will pay for two $2,500 scholarships to 2012 graduating seniors who graduated from Daniel Wright Junior High School. The primary criteria for selection are: demonstrated leadership qualities, academic excellence, school service and community service.

Last year’s winners were Cole Deloye and Kayla Reinherz from Stevenson High School. Deloye is studying business at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He is a recent pledge to the professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi.

Reinherz is studying economics at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park.

To apply, a 2012 graduating senior must complete the application, which must be signed by the applicant’s principal or school counselor. All applications must be sent to Rotary Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 755, Lincolnshire, IL 60069

The deadline for applying for the scholarship is April 23, 2012. Lincolnshire Rotary Scholarship applications are available online at www.lincolnshirerotary.org and in the college counseling offices at Adlai Stevenson High School, Carmel Catholic High School, Loyola Academy, Lake Forest Academy, and Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, or at School District 103 Administrative Office.

Contact the Lincolnshire Morning Star Rotary at scholarships@lincolnshirerotary.org.

Vocational training back in vogue

Once known somewhat disparagingly as “vocational training,” Career Technical Training is experiencing a renaissance in America. There is every indication that interest is continuing to rise, as families struggle ever harder to afford the traditional college education and as demand grows for skilled workers in fields such as aviation mechanics, computer technology, electronics, global positioning and trades ranging from culinary arts to construction.

Rotary District 6440 is offering 25, $1,000 scholarships to students working toward an associate’s degree or trade certificate. Each club in the district may nominate up to two candidates for the awards, which will be awarded on April 28.

The Lincolnshire Morning Star Rotary is actively seeking two applicants to sponsor for these vocational scholarships. Even if you are over 40, you can apply for a scholarship to return to school.

To be eligible, students must be permanent residents of District 6440; be a high school graduate, have a GED or be a non-traditional student returning to education; be accepted at a two-year community college or trade school; and be nominated by a District 6440 Rotary Club. Relatives of Rotarians are not eligible. Applications must be submitted by clubs to the District Vocational Committee no later than March 15.

District 6440 is made up of 72 local Rotary clubs in the Chicago area and northeastern Illinois. Contact the Lincolnshire Rotary club at scholarships@lincolnshirerotary.org.