On Wednesday, May 27, the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor celebrated the 13th year of the STRIVE program by awarding scholarships to students of Stone School, allowing them to attend Washtenaw Community College.

Pictured are Ann Arbor Public Schools staff, Rotary Club mentors and students who received scholarship. In the back row are Sheila Brown, Stone High School Principal (left); scholarship recipients Shavon Willis, Aiisha Hester, Michael Simmons and Rusty Moccardine; and Rotary mentors Leo Shedden, Nick Lacey, John Sepp, and Andy Dahlmann. In the middle row are Agnes Redding, Rotary Mentor (left); scholarship recipients Tamico Taliaferro and Shanika Brandon; Bev Seiford, Rotary mentor; scholarship recipients Olivia Fisher and Steve Szarbo; Dan Scharibaum, Rotary mentor; Liz Orbits, WCC's Student Resource and Women's Center manager; and Daphne Slater, Stone School guidance counselor. In the front row are Dave Kerren, Committee co-chair and Rotary mentor; Lois Jelneck, Rotary mentor; Wendy Correll, committee co-chair and Rotary mentor; Sabriena Bennett, Stone School graduation coach; scholarship recipient Stephanie Rubste; and Lois Stenger, Rotary mentor.

photo courtesy of Rotary Club of Ann Arbor

The awards ceremony took place during a weekly Rotary meeting and was witnessed by more than 125 Rotarians, scholarship winners, their family and school staff. $15,000 in scholarships was awarded to 11 students.

STRIVE stands for “Students Taking a Renewed Interest in the Value of Education.” Many Rotary clubs have a STRIVE program, and each is designed to serve an individual community.

The STRIVE program was started by the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor in 1998, offering college scholarship opportunities to Stone High School seniors who make a commitment to academic success, school attendance, positive behaviors (drug and alcohol free) and attendance at STRIVE activities.

Stone High School is an alternative high school that offers a smaller learning environment with a variety of credit recovery options, individualized student learning programs, and hybrid schedules. Students attend Stone High School because they were not succeeding at the traditional high schools.

In 2008 a financial review indicated that while scholarships were being awarded, they were being used at a low rate - some years less than 50 percent. Rotarians worked to identify why students weren’t using the funds: many are the first in their family to apply for college, some have children of their own, some lack parental support, some lack transportation or housing, some lack confidence, and some are just afraid to try.

In 2009, the STRIVE committee began a more formal mentoring program, pairing prospective scholarship recipients with Rotarians. Once students have been identified as probable scholarship recipients, they are matched with Rotary mentors based upon career interests. The goal of the mentorship program is 100 percent utilization of scholarships within two years of being awarded. The utilization rate is now more than 80 percent.

In addition to the lunch times, some mentors meet with students during school hours to work on math and science homework, to have dinner with their family, to attend a Rotary lunch meeting or to visit Washtenaw Community College.

Scholarships are earmarked directly for WCC enrollment, and Rotary works with the registrar and financial aid office for a smooth transition. Money for the scholarships is raised mainly through the Rotary Golf and Tennis Outing fundraiser in September.

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