Winners of this year's various Medina Kiwanis Club scholarships gather for a photo at Williams on the Lake in Medina.Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com
MEDINA, Ohio — The Kiwanis Club of Medina met at Williams on the Lake Thursday (June 6) to honor a number of very worthy graduating seniors from nine high schools in Medina County.
The dining room was filled with young girls in summer dresses, young men in casual clothing, their proud parents and Kiwanians there to reward them for their four years of hard work.
After a buffet lunch and a very brief business meeting, Mediina County Commissioner and Kiwanis member Colleen Swedyk called the Student of the Year from each of the high schools to the podium to receive a commendation and a $500 scholarship.
She asked each student about their summer plans and where they planned to attend college.
Each of the students had an impressive resume of academic, athletic, musical and/or volunteer activities.
The award winners were Jordan Bradford from Black River High School; Teddy Gurtsak, Brunswick; Madelyn Kost, Buckeye; Tristan Craddock, Cloverleaf; Kelly Lewis, Highland; Maya Young, Medina Christian Academy; Ava Snider, Medina County Career Center; Reed Hinkle, Medina High School; and Elizabeth Edwards, Wadsworth.
Longtime Kiwanis member Dale Weygandt took the podium to announce the winners of three addiitonal Kiwanis scholarships.
Each of the students received a $1,000 scholarship from Kiwanis and the Feckley Foundation.
The winners were:
• Mallory Kaczmarski from Buckeye High School. Mallory was president of the Key Club this past year. She will attend Bowling Green State University in the fall.
• Highland High School chose to award two $500 scholarships: to Colleen Clark, president of her Key Club and headed to Ball State University; and Sara Burns, the school’s Key Club vice president. She will attend Kent State University.
• Samantha Kermes of Medina High School. She was an active Key Club member who spent hundreds of hours painting murals on hallway and classroom walls at Ella Canavan Elementary School. She will attend The Ohio State University.
And, starting in 1984, the Medina Kiwanis Club has sponsored a golf outing each year to raise money for scholarships for Medina High School golf team members.
After 35 years, the money is running out, so this will be the final year for the golf scholarships.
From the girls’ team. the winner is Carleigh Johns. Carleigh was MHS Student Council president. She said her love of leadership began when she was elected president of K-Kids at Eliza Northrop Elementary School. She will attend The Ohio State University in the fall.
The winner from the boys’ team was William Guest, who also received the MHS Rollie Platz Sportsmanship award as both a junior and a senior. That award is given to a team member who exhibits the ideals of good sportsmanship, ethical behavior and good citizenship while participating in a varsity sport. He plans to play golf for Bluffton University.
The final awards were supported by the Brumbaugh family to commemorate their son Todd, who tragically died during his sophomore year at Medina High School, where he was a member of Key Club.
The winners of the Medina High School Brumbaugh scholarships will each receive $1,300. They are:
• Bryanna Freed, who is planning to attend Ohio Northern University to study pharmacy. Being able to help her community has shown her the importance of volunteering.
• Hallee Dyer, who was vice president of Key Club and participated in several service projects, including planting flowers at Spring Grove Cemetery. She will attend Cedarville University in the fall.
Weygandt ended the presentations with advice for the future: “Following K-Kids for elementary school, Builder’s Club for middle school and Key Club at the high school is the collegiate branch of the Kiwanis International family.
“That is Circle-K International, whose purpose is developing leaders by offering unique service, leadership and fellowship opportunities that enrich the world one member, one child and one community at a time.
“I hope that Circle-K will be available for you at your college or university.”
Read more from the Medina Sun.
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