By Kim McDarison
A full auditorium greeted approximately 71 Fort Atkinson High School Class of 2023 graduating seniors as they gathered on stage Wednesday in anticipation of the evening’s scholarship awards ceremony.
Fort Atkinson High School Counselor Samantha Ahler opened the event with a speech welcoming family members, friends, school district administration and some 40 presenters, all of whom participated in a two-hour ceremony during which some $643,000 in scholarship funds were distributed among the students on the stage.
Within her presentation, Ahler noted that some $440,000 of the total funds distributed Wednesday were provided by local organizations and individuals.
“The Fort Atkinson community is incredibly supportive of our students and their goals of post-secondary education. We are continually grateful for our community’s support,” she said.
Ahler said that 20 different scholarship committees within the community sorted through the scholarship applications and chose the “deserving recipients.”
She offered special thanks to Bob Jones, and members of the Fort Atkinson High School Alumni Foundation, and Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump and the members of the Fort Atkinson Vocational-Technical Scholarship committee, along with “all of the other members of the various scholarship committees for their help with the high school scholarship program.”
Additionally, she recognized the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation and its Executive Director Sue Hartwick, and thanked the organization for providing appetizers and desserts during the evening’s reception.
The ceremony commenced with the Pledge of Allegiance after which 86 scholarships were presented and the recipients of each were named.
A list of students by award totals is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/senior-scholarship-award-recipients-2023/.
An album presenting the evening in pictures is viewable by clicking the image below.
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