Staff Reports
Three local students have been awarded Golden K Kiwanis Will Comer scholarships.
Each student is receiving $1,000 scholarships from the club.
Winners are Sara Burton, Columbus Signature Academy New Tech, Jenna Dunfee, Columbus East High School and Tasha Knight, Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School.
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Burton participated in Columbus North High School show choir and was a member of National Honor Society at CSA-New Tech. She has danced at Sonya’s Dance Zone for 15 years and is a member of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. She plans to attend Ivy Tech Community College to pursue a degree in social work. She said her mentors are her aunts, Barbara Handt and Sandra Allman, and my mother Linda Sneed.
Dunfee will be attending the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville this fall, pursuing a degree in medical diagnostic sonography with certifications in general and cardiac sonography. She earned a nurse’s aide certification (CNA) during high school classes, volunteering with developmentally delayed students in classroom settings, Best Buddies, and as part of her lunchtime Improv Theatre Senior Project with these students. Jenna has also completed lifeguard/water park certifications. She has been a swimmer, earning a varsity letter in her freshman and sophomore years. She has also been a choir member throughout middle and high school, performing in two award winning show choirs, along with serving as co-president of CEHS Center Stage Show Choir her senior year. Jenna has participated in musical theatre, including solos in “Grease,” “Beauty & the Beast,” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” Jenna has volunteered for various community organizations, including the Lions, Optimists, and Kiwanis, Jay County Hospital, and for school swim and choir programs at the Indy 500 and local craft shows.
She recognized Arpita Sasatsangia (chemistry), Franchesca Westerfeld (nursing), Kyle Risley (Manager/Crew Carewash), Matt Slavik (swim coach), and Pat Daniels (Patient Advocate/Community Leader/Employer) as mentors, along with her mother.
Knight was a Sunshine Society member for two years and a German Club member for three years. She was in Hauser Historian Club for three years. She was a member of the C-4 Education professions program for two years. She recognized Danielle Mize, Kelli Hoeflinger and Lois Gollmer as mentors along with Polly Trotter and Savannah Blevins for allowing her presence in their classrooms and helping her learn more about becoming a teacher. Knight will be attending IUPUC for a bachelors in elementary education.
