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Last updated on Friday, April 27, 2018
(BEDFORD) - The BNL Scholarship Foundation awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships to 173 Bedford North Lawrence Seniors for their academic pursuits.
"Its a great year to be a senior!" said Hillary Whitaker, member of the Bedford North Lawrence Scholarship Foundation Board.
Last year $361,000 was awarded to the graduating class of 2017, but Whitaker credited the financial jump to the addition of new donors and the stock market.
Students were on the stage in groups of 30 to recieve their scholarships
Pastor Ken Bushey, of Restoration Church of the Nazarene, opened the 50th annual awards ceremony with a prayer asking for good fortune for the 173 seniors.
Students of 2018 Senior class accept recognition as being in the top 10 percent
It was a tearful and happy occasion as sons, daughters, sisters and brothers of the memorial scholarships shared stories of their loved ones as they presented their scholarships.
Dr. Kamal Girgis, of IU Hospital, along with his family presented the inaugural scholarship in memory of their father, Dr. Medhat H. Girgis, who passed away in 2017. The Dr. Medhat H. Girgis Memorial Scholarship is to be given to a BNL Senior who plans to attend medical school. That scholarship went to Bridget McFarland along with one of Dr. Medhat's very own stethoscopes as a special gift.
As scholarships were presented, one thing was common in what was said about the class of 2018 - "This is a really great group."
For a full list of scholarships and recipients, go to this link.
All of the scholarships have their own criteria. According to the BNL Scholarship Foundation website, all applications that are submitted on time and that are complete are evaluated to see if the student meets criteria set by donors and the Foundation scholarships. Students meeting the criteria will receive an interview. By the time of the interviews, students must have been admitted to an accredited university or technical school to maintain scholarship eligibility. Following interviews, the committee, made up of of the BNL Scholarship Foundation Board, will make the final determination of scholarship recipients.
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