How We Do It: Selecting Students

September 2023 // by Tom Feldman

“I sat with tears running down my face as I read the application essay from one of many students who applied to the POE Scholarship fund”.

This quote comes from one of our volunteers who reads POE applications each year. The student was telling the story of a life altering family loss and how that loss has impacted him and his goals. Yet the memory of that family member inspired the student to become the best person he could be by pursuing college and the career aspirations that he had discussed so many times with the one he had lost.

Every spring, approximately 15 POE volunteers hunker down to begin the grueling and emotional, yet rewarding, process of reviewing applications from potential scholarship recipients. Not all students have a heart wrenching story, but they all have a unique story. Many of our students are first generation college students who come from low income families where they have seen their parent or parents struggle to provide for them. These students want to go to college to build a better life for themselves and for those who have worked so hard to support them.

In 2023 POE received electronic, online applications from 39 students from four area high schools.

The fact that the applications are online makes it easy for the students to complete and for their references to weigh in. It also makes it efficient for the POE volunteers to carefully read the applications, make notes and score each section for later review. All volunteer readers are meticulous in their process of evaluating eight key areas: academics, extracurricular activities, work experience, 2 essays and 3 teacher and employer recommendations.

When the reading is completed, the volunteers meet to discuss each student, their financial need and relative qualifications for a POE Scholarship. These selection meetings are emotional because we know that someone will be left behind without a POE scholarship. There is not enough money to support everyone. Once the finalists are selected, each applicant is interviewed by the same team of volunteers. The volunteers then meet, once again, to make final selections. From there, mentors are assigned, and the applicants are informed that they are POE Scholarship recipients.

The application readers know that their job is a difficult one and they take it seriously. Although we can’t support everyone, seeing the progress and growth of the students we support provides a great deal of satisfaction.