Wednesday, May 17, was the Senior Awards and Recognition Program at Muscatine High School. Members of the Class of 2023 who completed the local scholarship packet were invited to the event but did not know exactly what or how many scholarships they would receive.

Over $300,000 was awarded to our Muskie seniors! The funds are provided by local businesses, organizations, community groups, families, and individuals.

I was honored to have the best seat in the house, on-stage, serving as the emcee for the evening. I was not prepared to get teary-eyed multiple times. The generosity our community shows towards our future leaders is extraordinary.

I wish my high school had an opportunity for students to earn many scholarships to help offset their continuing education costs. I’m still repaying student loans (granted, I’m close to the finish line).

You could see the sincere gratitude on the faces of our Muskies that night. Thank you to everyone involved in making that evening so special. This includes the outstanding staff members at Muscatine High School. At the risk of not mentioning them all by name, I’ll quickly shout out to Karey Hawkins, Brandon Welsch, Troy Kulland, Scott Mauck, Dani Wolfe, Kara Gregory, and Kris Meeker. Thank you for the time and energy that you put in.

If your business or organization wants to set up a scholarship fund, I encourage you to contact the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine. They do an outstanding job and would have all the information that you would need. If you happen to be sitting on a large amount of money and don’t know what to do with it, consider setting up your own scholarship! I hope to one day give back the way that so many do in our community. This includes the Muscatine High School Class of 1971, who made it their mission to set up a scholarship; great work by all of you!

I hope you all have a good week as we prepare for Memorial Day weekend. After that, we’ll wrap up the school year, and I know I’m looking forward to taking some time off as June begins. This summer better not go by too fast!