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Pitt State’s alumni are known for their generous giving and scholarships are no exception to that rule.
Tuesday, Sept 10, 2019, the university hosted its Alumni Scholarship Award Ceremony where, director of alumni and constituent relations Jon Bartlow and vice president of university advancement and president of the PSU Foundation, Kathleen Flanery, recognized recipients.
The Alumni Legacy License Plate Scholarships are awarded to students who are either incoming freshman or transfers, of PSU Legacy, and have either a 21 ACT or 3.0 GPA. These scholarships are allocated by programs, one being the Licence Plate Program.
“If you are a resident of Kansas or Missouri you can receive a Gorilla license plate by giving a gift of thirty dollars or more,” said Flanery. “Those allocations will come together to provide scholarships for qualifying students.”
For the ceremony, students and their families gathered at the PSU Alumni Center to be recognized for their achievements and for choosing Pitt State.
“We’re very conscious of the fact that you could’ve come to another university with those kinds of requirements that you have brought to us and the skill sets, but we truly appreciate making Pittsburg State University your home and being apart of the Gorilla family”, Flanery said in her speech.
Bartlow explained the importance of the event and why the recognition is important.
“I think anytime that, especially new incoming freshmen, are able to earn a scholarship, we like to take the opportunity to recognize them for it,” Bartlow said. “We constantly hear that Pitt State is a family and tradition, and we can really see that embodied in an event like this”.
Incoming freshmen are really important to PSU’s campus and a few recipients explained how they came to earn the award.
“I just kept really good grades in high school,” said Daria Stricklin, freshman. “My goal was always to keep a 4.0.”
Legacy is a big part of the ceremony and continuing the tradition, according to Stricklin.
“I didn’t have to do a whole lot to get here,” said Garret Durr, freshman. “It was more of my parents and grandparents. I’m a third generation Gorilla so I already knew where I was going.”