John Scarffe, Gilpin County. I was invited to attend a meeting of Gilpin County High School Seniors at the school on Thursday, February 20, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. I arrived at the school under sunny skies, parked and climbed the stairs to get a visitor’s pass.

From there, I followed the hall to the elevators and up to the third floor. A janitor directed me to the auditorium where the seniors had already gathered. Many of my old friends were there including Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Sahari McCormick and Treasurer and Public Trustee Mary Lorenz, Peak to Peak activist Barbara Theilmann, Sheriff Kevin Armstrong and Kim Cobb, the Gilpin Schools Counselor, who organized the event. 

Sheriff Armstrong introduced the Alan Green Leadership Scholarship, which is $15,000 per year for four years. Applicants must demonstrate how they have been a leader throughout their years in school and how they will continue to be a leader. Students must complete the application which can be downloaded from https://gilpineducationfoundation.org/.  The requirements include personal letters, a letter of reference, an official high school transcript and a copy of the acceptance letter from the college, university or trade school you plan to attend by March 31. Gilpin students are also eligible for the Gilpin County Educational Scholarships. 

The Gilpin County Education Foundation offers two scholarships to graduating seniors: the Gilpin County Education Foundation Scholarship and the Theilemann Family Teacher Scholarship. These two scholarships are academic-based and for graduating seniors who are permanent residents of Gilpin County regardless of the school they attend or any student attending Gilpin County RE-1 School. 

Funds are restricted to students who are planning to attend an institution of higher education including college, community college or technical school following graduation. Scholarship amounts are based on the merit of the applications received and the funds available. Only one Theilemann Family Teacher Scholarship will be awarded each year and is restricted to students pursuing a career in education. It is a $1,000 scholarship. 

Scholarship applications for the 2019/2020 school year are due on or before Friday, April 17, 2020, and are only accepted through our online Google Form.

Barbara Thielmann presented information about the Peak to Peak Regional Rotary Scholarship, which awards $1,000 scholarships for students who have participated in activities and have leadership skills.

Information was also presented about the Barbara Lawlor Memorial Scholarship in honor of the great reporter and photographer who wrote for The Mountain-Ear until she passed away last year.

Scholarship applications are due on March 15, 2020.  

The Barbara Lawlor Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2018. The mission of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to individuals that are enrolled in courses in a college or university. Preference will be given to students who attended high school in Nederland or Gilpin. 

Additional preference will be given to students that participated in contributing stories or photo essays to ​The Mountain-Ear ​newspaper during their high school career. Financial assistance​ is awarded to one student at Nederland High School, one student at Gilpin High School and one student at Chinook West High School, provided funds are available.

The organization pays scholarship funds directly to the recipient. Scholarships are awarded annually and are awarded without regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.  

Applicants must be completing or have completed high school successfully. Applicants must be accepted as a full-time student at a college or university for the upcoming academic semester. Applicants must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. Applicants must complete and submit a Scholarship Application by ​March 15, 2020. 

Please mail or submit application in person to Peak to Peak Healthy Communities Project, Barbara Lawlor Memorial Scholarship, P.O. Box 668 Nederland, CO 80466, or email to publisher1977@gmail.com. 

(Originally published in the February 27, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)