By HOLLY GERKE
K-State News and Communication Services
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University has awarded the Presidential Scholarship, the largest scholarship award in the state, to three high school seniors.
Winners of the $20,000-per-year Presidential Scholarship, worth $80,000 over four years, are Tristan Willson, Olathe, a senior at Olathe North High School and recipient of the Vanier Family Business Administration Best of Kansas Presidential Scholarship for students who plan to choose a major in the College of Business Administration; Josephine Benson, Wamego, a senior at Wamego High School; and Tyler Carlgren, Kansas City, Mo., a senior at Barstow High School.
The scholarship competition was conducted in early February on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan. The university received 80 applications, and a selection committee chose 10 student finalists to interview for a general Presidential Scholarship and five students to interview for the Presidential Scholarship for the College of Business Administration.
As the largest and most selective scholarship award made by K-State, the Presidential Scholarship seeks to recognize students who have been truly outstanding, both academically and as student leaders, during their high school careers.
The following high school seniors were finalists for the Presidential Scholarship:
Thaddaeus Blakley, Hutchinson, a senior at Hutchinson High School; Nathan Hattrup, a senior at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, and Reagan King, a senior at Blue Valley Northwest High School, both from Overland Park; Will Fulkerson, Salina, a senior at Salina South High School; and Corbin Hoppas, Wichita, a senior at Andover High School.
From out of state: Jack Heit, Creve Coeur, Missouri, a senior from De Smet Jesuit High School.
The 2023-2024 Presidential Scholarships are made possible by support from alumni and friends. The awards include the Mike and Becky Goss Presidential Scholarship, funded by Mike and Becky Goss, Westport, Connecticut; the Mary L. Vanier Presidential Scholarship, funded by Mary L. Vanier, Manhattan; the Vanier Family Business Administration Best of Kansas Presidential Scholarship, funded by members of the Jack Vanier family of Brookville, Salina and Manhattan.