Four Collinsville students were recently awarded $1,000 each in scholarship money to further their post-high school education. Students Graydon Baima, Ryan Brunton, Sabrina Flohr and Corey Kitsch are the most recent group of graduating seniors to receive scholarships from the Collinsville Educational Scholarship Foundation, a group dedicated to supporting the educational experiences of Collinsville youth.
Collinsville Educational Scholarship Foundation winners, families and foundation members. Scholarship winners, holding ceremonial check are, left to right, Graydon Baima, Corey Kitsch and Ryan Brunton / Photo by Roger Starkey
Through fundraising and charitable giving, CESF collects funds and awards scholarship money to graduating seniors who live in the Collinsville area and plan to further their education, whether that be at a college, university, community college, or vocational school. An eight-member board, which includes the finance manager for the City of Collinsville and a member of the Collinsville Unit 10 central administration, chooses from a group of applicants who have submitted an essay and application. Since its foundation in 2010, the CESF has awarded a total of 12 scholarships.
Board President Kai Redmon explained that the goal is to reward students who excel academically and at public service. “Really, it’s how much they’ve been a part of the community,” said Redmon, “and their vision as to what they’re going to do, and the possibility of coming back [to Collinsville].” The board looks for applicants who can explain their future goals with an eye to giving back when they become adults.
“Obviously grades and class rank are part of it,” says board member Brad Keene, “and then the activities that they’re involved in.” The board sees students with a variety of community experiences in their backgrounds, from working at Willoughby Farm to helping at the senior center to after-school tutoring.
Most students who apply already have a specific track in mind for their future education, and must be able to explain why they chose it and what they plan to do with it.
“They all just seem to have a purpose, which is really interesting to read in their own words,” says Keene.
The scholarships are merit-based and must be applied to tuition at an educational institution.
The CESF is the realized vision of the late Stan Schaeffer, Collinsville’s former mayor and long-time educator in the Collinsville School District. Schaeffer dreamed of a foundation that would dedicate itself to the support and enhancement of community students who wanted to further their schooling beyond high school. Unfortunately, says Redmon, this dream was not realized during Schaeffer’s lifetime.
Current Collinsville Mayor John Miller, however, wanted to see Schaeffer’s dream become a reality, and approached Redmon in 2009 about starting the foundation. Redmon has been with the project ever since. He believes the foundation is good for the community, both because it helps make Collinsville a more rewarding place to live, and because it encourages bright young graduates to return and give back after their schooling is complete.
The foundation’s biggest challenge is raising awareness and increasing its available funds for awards. Currently, the award amount is $1,000 for each student chosen. The number of scholarships per year depends partly on the number of deserving applicants, and partly on how much money the foundation has each spring.
“The critical thing to do is just continue to try to build the assets of the foundation,” Keene said, “to be able to award more scholarships and scholarships with higher amounts.” He says he would like to see larger awards in future years, possibly even multi-year awards to encourage students to stick with their chosen program.
This is, of course, dependent on raising awareness and donations. As a 501C(3) separate from the City of Collinsville, the CESF relies on private donations and charitable giving. They host a fundraising golf scramble each fall, and two years ago were the recipients for Collinsville’s Festival of Trees celebration, for which Redmon and the board remain deeply grateful, he said.
Interested citizens can learn more about CESF by contacting Redmon at 618-344-038 or by visiting online here.
At the end of the day, says Keene, the focus of the foundation is really on Collinsville’s promising high school seniors. “It’s about rewarding the kids from Collinsville who have shown academic excellence and community involvement, and all the things that go with it…and promot[ing] higher education.”
