Local students earn Youth Serve Montana Scholarships

Press release

HELENA — The Governor’s Office of Community Service, Montana Campus Compact, and Reach Higher Montana today announced that 100 high school seniors from 52 communities across Montana were awarded $1,000 Youth Serve Montana Scholarships. These scholarships recognize each student’s commitment to volunteering 100 hours or more.

  Local students earning scholarships are Andrea Rutledge of Big Sandy, who plans to attend Montana State University in Bozeman; Erika Arnold of Chinook, who plans to attend Montana State Univeristy-Northern, and Alexandra Barkus of Havre, who plans to attend University of Montana in Missoula.

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants volunteered at least 100 hours over the last year. Many students volunteered more than this and in total, the 100 scholarship recipients contributed nearly 17,000 volunteer hours to Montana. Students helped their communities by mentoring their younger peers, assisting seniors in retirement homes, participating in school and community service events, serving as summer camp counselors, volunteering with organizations such as 4-H, National Honor Society, and Key Club, and many more.

“Congratulations to the students who were awarded with a Youth Serve Montana Scholarship to help further their learning in our state,” said Dan Ritter, director of the Governor’s Office of Community Service. “We hope these students will continue to apply this passion of making a difference for others at Montana’s institutions of higher education and down the road as they enter the workforce.”

People can visit http://serve.mt.gov/ServeMT/youth-serve-montana-scholarships for the full list of scholarship recipients.

These $1,000 Youth Serve Montana Scholarships are for continued education at one of Montana Campus Compact’s two-year, four-year, public, tribal, private, or community colleges and universities.

  The 2018 Youth Serve Montana Scholarships have been made possible through support from the Governor’s Office of Community Service, Montana Campus Compact, and Reach Higher Montana. This is the 13th year that this scholarship opportunity has been made available for Montana students.

  The Governor’s Office of Community Service expands and promotes national service and volunteerism in Montana and engages citizens in service. Visit serve.mt.gov.

  Montana Campus Compact is Montana’s largest higher-education network and works to improve community life by educating students for civic and social responsibility. Visit http://www.mtcompact.org.

Reach Higher Montana is a public benefit organization based in Helena. Their purpose is to guide, prepare and support Montana students with inspiration, information and resources for college. With locations in Helena, Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Missoula, Butte and Bigfork, Reach Higher Montana advisors are available to help students and families with their education finance plan. Services include FAFSA assistance, scholarship searches, college applications and specialized programs for foster care youth who wish to pursue higher education. Reach Higher Montana is supported by the Montana Higher Education Student Assistance Corporation and can be visitited online at http://www.reachhighermontana.org/.