Local organizations assist students with scholarships
Devon Fleming is prepared for college.
The 18-year-old Fort Scott High School senior is one of 21 graduating FSHS seniors who will receive scholarships this year through the Ellis Foundation Scholarship Program. The Fort Scott-based Ellis Foundation has provided scholarships to eligible students, most of whom come from low-to-moderate income or single-parent families, since 1997.
"This is one of the largest years in Fort Scott we've ever had," Ellis Foundation spokesman Chris Ellis said. Ellis is the son of local philanthropists Danny and Willa Ellis, who started the foundation more than a decade ago. The foundation provided scholarships to 18 FSHS students last year.
Fleming said he plans to major in creative writing and minor in journalism when he begins classes at Kansas State University this fall.
"I feel very honored, actually," Fleming said when asked how he felt about being interviewed by Ellis Foundation representatives and eventually receiving the scholarship. "I wasn't too nervous and I think my resume is pretty nice."
The scholarship that Fleming will receive is a collaborative effort between the Ellis Foundation and The Fort Scott Tribune, and will pay $1,000 per semester for eight consecutive semesters toward his college education, or $2,000 per year for up to four years, as long as he stays in school. The scholarship will help Fleming pay for the cost of tuition, books, on-campus housing, and any computer fees during his first year at KSU.
Ellis Foundation representatives work closely with high school counselors and interview each eligible candidate who applies for a scholarship through the program. Scholarships can be renewed depending on the student's performance and the availability of foundation funds. Students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.25, and be enrolled in at least 12 college credit hours, which is considered full-time, in order to keep the scholarship.
Fleming said he maintains a 3.6 GPA at FSHS and has been included on the school's Honor Roll. He also participates regularly in the FSHS band and a few clubs and activities at the school. Fleming said this is the first year he has been involved in a journalism class at FSHS. He also writes for the FSHS newspaper and said he wants to get involved in Website journalism in college.
The Ellis Foundation also maintains contact with each scholarship recipient throughout the school year to improve the student's odds of graduating. The foundation also works with the students to help them pick the most appropriate college or university to attend.
During the 2006-07 school year, the Ellis Foundation provided scholarships to 545 students from 47 high schools in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Those students were enrolled at 76 colleges and universities. The foundation will provide financial assistance to about 600 full-time college students this year, Chris Ellis said.
Since its inception, the foundation has provided more than 180 scholarships totaling more than $1 million in assistance to FSHS students.
The foundation awarded 246 new scholarships to graduating seniors this year from high schools in seven different states, including Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, and Kentucky. Since 1997, more than 1,100 students in those schools have received scholarships through the Ellis' program, and the foundation has contributed more than $6 million in scholarship money, Ellis said.
Danny and Willa Ellis established the scholarship program in 1997, and began awarding local scholarships in memory of their daughter, Kathy Lyn Ellis Adriance, who died of breast cancer that year.