Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..
Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Updated: May 27, 2024 @ 3:20 pm
Scholarship recipient Josiah Jackson with, from left, Eunice Wohlferd, Kelly Gee, Bea Abbott, Jackson, Donna Walker, Ann Finnell, Bob Walker and Gary Dollgener.
Scholarship recipient Josiah Jackson with, from left, Eunice Wohlferd, Kelly Gee, Bea Abbott, Jackson, Donna Walker, Ann Finnell, Bob Walker and Gary Dollgener.
A group of former Cleburne High School students on Friday awarded the first in what they hope will be many scholarships to come.
“This is something we want to do every year from here out,” 1965 CHS graduate Gary Dollgener said. “We want to help our students out and give back to CHS for what it gave us.”
Graduating senior Josiah Jackson received the group’s first scholarship, the Cleburne House System Scholarship, which totals $3,500.
“It means a lot to be the first student to receive this,” Jackson said. “I’m very thankful and honored to have been chosen and this scholarship will certainly be a big help with college.”
The CHS Reunion Group consists of former students who attended CHS during the high school’s house days, Dollgener said.
From the early 1900s through 1976, students entering CHS received assignment to one of six houses.
Those included Wilson, Riley and Edison for boys and Barton, Willard and Addams for girls. The house system ended in 1976 when the high school moved from its former to current location. The former high school building now serves as the Guinn Justice Center housing district courts and other county offices. A museum on Guinn’s ground floor includes exhibits and information on the former school and its house system.
CHS Reunion Group members hold a banquet and reunion the last Saturday of each September, Dollgener said.
This year’s scholarship award while new is hardly the first instance of CHS Reunion Group members giving back.
“We’d built up a pretty good fund from reunion dinner ticket sales and sponsors through the years,” Dollgener said. “So, in the past few years we’ve given donations to the Cleburne Education Foundation and the Jump Start Program. This year we figured it would be a good idea to start an annual scholarship.”
The Cleburne Education Foundation provides grants to teachers and CISD campuses to cover the costs of non budgeted equipment, supplies and programs. The Jump Start Program covers the cost of CHS/Hill College dual credit courses whereby students earn both high school and college credit for certain classes.
“The scholarship is available to graduating CHS senior who plan to attend Hill College,” Dollgener said. “The scholarship pays for their first year. It pays for books and classes for the first semester then, if they pass, we pay for the second semester too.”
CHS Reunion Group members turned to CISD officials for assistance in scholarship selection matters.
“We met as a school committee to decide on the best recipient for the scholarship,” CHS Lead Counselor Laura Hermesmeyer said.
Committee members considered academics, extracurriculars and community involvement in making their decision.
Jackson said he plans to pursue an associates degree in fire protection technology in hopes of becoming an EMT and firefighter.
“This scholarship will be a tremendous help with books classes and equipment,” Jackson said.
Jackson added that he hopes to hire on with a local fire department once he completes his degree.
Jackson’s father, Chris Jackson who serves as CISD’s assistant superintendent of education research, beamed over his son’s accomplishments.
“Josiah has always been very service oriented and we couldn’t be more proud,” Chris Jackson said. “From being involved in church, tennis, JROTC and other activities, he’s always been a very service minded young man.”
Chris Jackson praised too the CHS Reunion Group.
“I think it’s great that our alumni members still care about their school and have seen fit to give back to help our current and future students,” Chris Jackson said. “Josiah is my third to graduate CHS and I have one more to go, so this scholarship is a big help.”
Hermesmeyer credited the CHS Reunion Group as well.
“What they do and what others do,” Hermesmeyer said. “This is my first year in Cleburne and I’ve just been blown away by the support from the community for our students. We have a very giving community here and that’s exciting for us and our students.”
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