Eleven attend inaugural Academic Scholarship Banquet

Chamber of Commerce recognizes academic achievement of local seniors
Eleven students from LSMSA were recognized during the inaugural Elite Scholarship Banquet held Tuesday, May 8, in the ballroom located on the campus of Northwestern State University.

Sponsored by the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce, City of Natchitoches and NSU, seniors from Natchitoches Central High School, St. Mary’s School, Lakeview High School and LSMSA were selected by school counselors based on their ACT scores, grade point average and dual enrollment credits at NSU. Students from LSMSA also had the added requirement of being a Natchitoches resident.

A point scale was used to select the highest achieving students, with two points given for an ACT score at or above a 24, one point given for a 3.5 or higher GPA and one point given for 12 or more hours of dual enrollment. All students with at least three points were invited to attend the banquet along with two parents or guests.

The LSMSA students recognized were Lauren Bartels, Albert Chen, Edouard Ferrell, Devon Mathews, LiZhang Matuschka, Reed Middendorf, Bryce Moulton, Tomas Parker, Adreanna Queen, Jake Stultz and Russell Stultz.
Mayor Lee Posey was a driving force in creating this event, hoping to model a similar program held in DeSoto Parish.

“We have some great kids that graduate from both our public and private school systems in Natchitoches,” Posey said. “We really wanted to come together as a community to applaud their efforts and encourage all students to strive for this level of academic excellence.”

The Education Steering Committee for the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce led the effort to organize the event, which is in keeping with their recent push for higher academic standards across Natchitoches Parish.

According to Van Erikson, committee chair, the objective of the event was three-fold: to acknowledge the outstanding high school careers of these students, to award scholarships with excess monies raised for the event and to jumpstart a collaborative approach to education in Natchitoches Parish.

Liz Juffin, president of the Chamber of Commerce, reached out to chamber membership to garner financial support for this event, which was offered to deserving students and their families at no charge.

“The banquet was only possible because of generous sponsorships by our local businesses, who step up time and time again to support our community,” said Juffin.

Title sponsor for the banquet was the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, donating $1,500 to the cause. The City of Natchitoches was a silver sponsor. Other sponsors included Bolton Realty, Bank of Montgomery, City Bank, Exchange Bank, Natchitoches Community Alliance, NSU and Sabine State Bank. Sponsors had the opportunity to dine with two students and their guests.

A keynote address and challenge to seniors was given by Kimberly Eckert, 2018 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year and NSU alumna.

Eckert offered inspirational words of wisdom to attendees as well as congratulations to the students and their parents for their hard work.

Another highlight of the evening was the scholarship balloon pop. Each student was handed a balloon at registration. One balloon contained a $1,000 scholarship and was awarded to Kengela Beard from NCHS. Seven balloons contained $500 scholarships and one of the winners was LiZhang Matuschka of LSMSA.
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