A call is going out for applicants for the Leelanau Prospectors Club scholarship program, which annually provides $14,000 to help improve the lives of county residents.
The funds are offered to high school graduates entering traditional colleges, graduates who plan to enter the trades, and post-high school students attending or who plan to attend classes to further their professional careers.
Dick Guzowski is Prospectors Club scholarship chairman. Chet Janik has been a member of the scholarship committee for many years.
“It’s an honor to work with both high school graduates from Leelanau County and adults striving for success,” said Janik, former school superintendent, Northwestern Michigan College administrator and Leelanau County administrator. “Members of the Prospectors Club care deeply about their community. They contribute to their scholarship program as a way to give back to Leelanau and ensure that the county keeps moving forward.”
Four scholarships for $2,000 each will be provided to high school graduates attending college. Successful applicants will be judged by their scholastic achievement, community involvement and extracurricular activities, financial need and a personal interview with a panel of judges who are retired educators and unaffiliated with the Prospectors. In addition, some $2,000 is available for a Northwest Education Services (Career Tech) graduate or graduates studying vocations such as construction, welding, plumbing and automotive repair.
Application packets for high school graduate scholarships are available at school counseling offices throughout Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties, and at Career Tech.
In addition, the Prospector program offers two $2,000 scholarships to post high school residents who want to further their professional careers through schooling. The application consists of an essay explaining how a scholarship will improve the life of the perspective recipient and those around him or her. Email Janik at “janikchet@aol. com or call (313) 633-7680 for further information.
Completed applications are due by April 9. Only county residents may apply. Checks will be presented at the Prospectors Club dinner meeting on May 30, to which recipient parents and family are invited.
The Prospectors Club was begun shortly after World War II ended by a group of community leaders who started meeting monthly at restaurants around the county to improve the local economy.
