Centerville Rotary Grants Program

 

 

Our first recipient is Nate Dixon. Nate brought his mother, Jamie. He lives here in Centerville and has 3 siblings, ages 20, 12 and 11. In his spare time he loves to volunteer and help with tornado victims.

At CHS, he was well liked by the staff. His grades were solid, and even improving thanks to the Advanced Manufacturing Program. He loved hands on courses with experiences related to trades and especially welding.

 

Therefore, Nate plans to attend Sinclair Community College with the goal of completing Welding courses and possibly transferring to the Hobart Welding school in Troy to earn a certification in Welding.  He wants to specifically study Aviation Welding.

 

He worked part time during his school years. He has worked hard and so we wish him well with our Rotary scholarship. It will be put to good use. Congratulations.

 

The book we are presenting him with is The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. I have read this book and loved the story of Orville, Wilbur and Katharine Wright. It informs both as biography and American history. It won the Combs Gates Award from the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Ohioana Book Award.

 

 

Thomas Morris. Thomas brought his father, Mike and his girlfriend Kalyssa. Lives here in town with his mother and younger brother. Thomas volunteered as a cook and served people in need at Dayton's Helping Homeless. 

 

He too is very valued by the CHS staff and all are rooting for him to do well. He is very dependable and trustworthy and has worked these last few years full time as a self-taught mechanic, supporting his family. He has been completing his remaining assignments remotely. 

 

He also wants to go to Hobart to earn a Welding Certificate. 

Congratulations on earning your scholarship! 

 

Thomas’s Book is Why We Make Things and Why It Matters by Peter Korn.

The author invites the reader to understand craftsmanship as an activity that connects us to others and affirms what is best in ourselves.

 

 

Julianne Marzluff. Jules- as she calls herself- brought her mom, Mrs Marzluff, Jennifer. Jules will attend Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. She has won many grants and scholarships and one was the Presidential Scholarship for her scholastic excellence. She would like to get a double major in Publishing and Editing and also Creative Writing. Eventually we will see her name on our favorite books as she would like to become a writer.

 

Jules stood out for her many, many theater performances in all shapes and forms and she won a Merit Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Play and an award for Outstanding Production of a Play and Best Actress.

 

She did many hours of community service, including helping the Washington Township Fire department by carrying the banner in the Americana Festival, and helping tutor Latino students with English at El Puente, an after-school program and Food Drives

She also held several jobs, like at the Roderer Shoe store near Trader Joe’s. In short, I don't know how there are enough hours in a day to pack it all in.. Congratulations! Well deserved. 

 

The book chosen for Jules is Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, Napolitani explores the meaning of love and family with this striking story of four Chicago sisters and the young man who enters their lives. This book is joyful, beautifully constructed and a must read for those who are fond of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

 

 

Next is Sam McLain. He brought his parents, Robert and Karen. Sam has actually been before us already: he was the student body president at CHS and came here for Spirit Chain. That was one of his major accomplishments, as they raised $62,000.

 

Sam will go to Northwestern University and will study Political Science. He would like to help people choose better leaders and wants to be active in political change. I want to wish you the very best of luck with that. It will be tough!

 

Another few of his accomplishments are: several major awards for Speech and Debate, (that will come in handy as a politician!) He was in Forte A Cappella and that is a big deal! They had multiple recognitions on the National Best of High School A Cappella Album. With the Symphonic Choir he performed at Carnegie Hall! Sam was also big with his theater performances and received multiple Theater Awards.

 

And just like James Erwin, whom we met last week, Sam was on the Hope Squad - chosen by his peers to help with Suicide Prevention,  and an Elk Connector to help freshman acclimate to the High School.He received many more Awards and Honors, too many to name all. Again a well deserving Scholarship recipient. 

 

It is a surrealist story set during the era of slavery, the book follows a young black man who discovers his memories trigger a mysterious power of teleportation or conduction and helps slaves flee.

 

 

Erin Lynch is the next Rotary Scholarship Recipient. Erin brought Christine and Michael Lynch with her today. 

Erin will attend Northeastern University, because of their focus on experiential learning, and wants to study medicine in hopes of becoming an ER doctor. She will major in Computer Science and Behavioral Neuroscience.  

 

Two of her student activities that stood out for me were: one that she was co-director of Art Ascending Charity Art Auction and she raised over $3000 for the Dayton Foundation and two, that she founded Women in STEM as a club at CHS. She brought in speakers, hosted challenges and educational activities to encourage her peers' (women and girls) interest in STEM.

 

She also plays the flute and was a tutor for flute and Math and volunteered at Atrium and Southview hospitals. She had a job at Bethany Village and received many Awards and Honors. Congratulations on all of your accomplishments!

 

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, is a memoir by American geochemist and professor, Hope Jahren. Someone wrote that Jahren had “the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist.” She does for botany what Oliver Sacks’s essays did for neurology and Jay Gould’s writings did for paleontology.

 

 

Eddie Kuper will go to study at OSU because they offer Integrated Business and Engineering, his biggest interests. He will pursue an Industrial Engineering major with a minor in Finance. He came to see us with Sam earlier in the year to raise money for Spirit Chain and he was also instrumental in raising that very large amount of $62,000.

 

Eddie is our third recipient who is on the Hope Squad! Congratulations on that!

He is not only good at talking with emotionally struggling students, he also coached a young boy playing soccer with TOPS Soccer - an interactive program for disabled children. And helped the Noon Optimists with their youth soccer program. So soccer is his thing and he was a starter on the Varsity Soccer team at CHS. And a member of Club soccer in Xenia.

 

Besides doing good deeds through soccer and traveling for his club, Eddie found the time to be a co-founder of the Investment Club at CHS and hold a job at Chick-fil-a and Raising Canes. He even switched to Raising Canes because they could give him more hours!

 

So Eddie is a very hard working student, with many honors and awards. In short, again, another perfect candidate for our Rotary Scholarship.  

 

Eddie’s book is The Culture Code: by Daniel Coyle, A New York Times bestseller, the author of The Talent Code unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture

 

 

 

James Erwin is interested in computers and engineering, and has been accepted to the John Martinson Honors college at Purdue University.

 

James wholeheartedly deserved this scholarship. He had so many extracurricular activities, but one that at stood out for the committee was being on the Hope Squad, a suicide prevention program at the High School, with members chosen by their peers. Sofie said it was obvious his fellow students put a lot of trust in him. He was also a Care Team member at Cline Elementary School and an Elk Connector for freshman at CHS.

 

The book chosen for James is Format’s Last Theorem, by Simon Singh. The book tells the story of the search for the proof of a mathematical deduction, Fermat’s Last Theorem, which took until 1995 to prove. It is the first mathematics book to become a #1 bestseller with an accompanying documentary which won the BAFTA in 1997.