New application, more scholarship opportunities

As the new year starts, so does the second half of the school year. It will be the final semester for high school seniors before they venture out into the real world; some will join the workforce, and others will go on to college.

With college comes all the paperwork seniors will have to fill out, which includes scholarship applications. With so many options, figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. The Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) folks are offering a hand to ease the confusion.

The CFO has administered $1.7 million in scholarships and wants to help more students. From Jan. 2 until Mar. 24, high school seniors are encouraged to visit the website www.cfozarks.org/applyforscholarships and fill out the CFO's new universal application.

The new application will ask seniors a series of questions unique to each, and based on their responses, the universal application will pair them with the scholarship opportunities they qualify for. This new process that the CFO is implementing is designed to save students time and introduce scholarships they might not otherwise have known about. Scholarships range from $200 to $10,000, with many renewable for two to four years.

"We're excited for students to use the new universal application," said Beth Hersh, the CFO's director of scholarships. "With so many scholarship opportunities established by generous donors, we're grateful to offer a system that can easily tailor the process to each student."

As a reminder, the CFO's scholarship application process will end on Sunday, Mar. 24. For more information, readers are encouraged to contact Beth Hersh at bhersh@cfozarks.org or by phone at 417-864-6199.

The following list is some of the many scholarships that high school seniors could qualify for, with some for specific schools and others that are open to multiple schools,

Conway: James M. Payne and Frances A. Payne Scholarship

Fordland: Ruby Knutson and Esther Miles Scholarship

Marshfield: Bill Keesling Scholarship,

Boesl-Gentry Memorial Scholarship,

Kathryn Garst Gray and Henry E. Gray Scholarship,

Lewis E. and Wilma Childress Scholarship,

Lyman Mooney Music Scholarship,

Rex and Virginia Price Scholarship

Logan-Rogersville:

Christina A. Harter/Run, Lead, Achieve Scholarship,

Gabe Wilson, Charlie Phillips, and Scott Bruenger Scholarship,

Kiwanis Club of Ozark Empire Endowed Scholarship,

Liv A Life of Love Scholarship

Seymour:

Blaine A. Childress Scholarship,

Jackie Dale Blankenship Memorial Scholarship,

Mattie E. Childress Memorial, Robert B. Childress Memorial Scholarship,

Ruby Knutson and Esther Miles Scholarship,

Steven Cummins Memorial Scholarship,

Sue (Coutchie) Loughrige Scholarship,

Strafford:

George Nixon Agricultural Scholarship,

John Allen Memorial Scholarship,

Liv A Life of Love Scholarship,

Multiple Counties:

Alternative Education Scholarship,

American Patriot Scholarship,

Arthur G. Tesar Scholarship,

Betty H. King Scholarship,

Camp Arrowhead Staff Scholarship,

Daniel DiSylvester Memorial Soccer Scholarship,

Diane and Peter Christodoulou Memorial Scholarship,

Foster Care Scholarship,

Gravelin Scholarship,

Greater Ozarks Chapter of the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses, #144 Scholarship,

Jim and Shirley Cook Scholarship,

Kevin Umlauf Foundation Scholarship,

Missouri Association of RC & D Councils Scholarship,

Ozark Chapter of Missouri Society of Professional Engineers Scholarship,

Shelby Estep Memorial FFA Scholarship,

Southwest Cattlemen's Association Scholarship,

Southwest Missouri Resource Conservation and Development Scholarship,

Youth Empowerment Program Scholarship