Greene County Daily World: Scholarships awarded to students furthering their education to solve global issues

October 6, 2016

Via Greene County Daily World WESTGATE -- The WestGate @ Crane College Fair 2016 occurred Tuesday morning with hundreds of students from 12 high schools in attendance. More than 30 college and university representatives from Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois had informational booths at the fair. $3,000 in scholarship money was awarded to three winning seniors hoping to further their education in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Students wrote essays on how STEM applies to solving world problems. First place winner Jonathon Ritter from North Daviess High School wrote about how to maximize STEM to solve world hunger. He was awarded $1,500 in scholarship money to attend a college or university of his choosing. Ritter says STEM can solve a lot of problems and he hopes to further his education to help aid people suffering around the globe. 'I believe that through technology we can solve a lot of issues but the thing is we have to use it correctly and ethically. My career goal is to be a biomedical researcher and to find treatments for conditions such as paralysis, HIV and AIDS, vaccines...stuff like that to [prevent] diseases.' Second place winner Alexandria Kilzer from Bloomfield High School won a $1,000 scholarship and third place winner, North Daviess' Allyson Speer, was awarded $500. The scholarship money is raised through the annual Running for Our Future 5K that takes place every summer at WestGate@Crane Technology Park. The WestGate@Crane College Fair is an Indiana Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) registered event, meaning the fair is held to a high level of educational standards.