Between concerts by the Healdsburg Chorus and rehearsals for a new play on the Raven stage, Healdsburg High School held its annual awards ceremony. On a school night no less: Tuesday, April 29.
The place was nearly packed with students, their parents and teachers, and most of them came away winners, receiving from $300 to $25,000 to help pay for their higher education.
“Scholarship Night is truly a testament to the generosity of the community of Healdsburg and how much our town cares about our young people,” said Shelley Anderson, the school’s scholarship coordinator.
“Because of our robust and bountiful scholarship program and donors, many of our HHS graduates are able to get their four-year degrees with minimal or no debt.”
It’s estimated that a total of more than $500,000 in scholarship support was provided to graduating seniors. This year’s senior class is 136 students, at last count; the school’s total enrollment is 525.
Eighty-three students received scholarships that night, and 20 alumni received renewable scholarships, Anderson said. That’s more than half of the total senior class, or 61%. Included were 100 Doyle scholarship recipients, graduating seniors planning to attend SRJC. But even without the Doyle winners, it’s an impressive number.
Principal Tait Danhausen offered his congratulations to “every student who received a scholarship this year. Healdsburg is a community that wholeheartedly supports its students, and Scholarship Night is an opportunity to celebrate that commitment.”
Danhausen also thanked “all of the clubs, individuals, professional organizations, and family trusts that granted scholarships this year.”
The next big event for Healdsburg High School seniors, graduation, takes place on Friday, June 6, at 7pm at HHS.
The complete list of awardees for Scholarship Night and other career prep information is on the HHS website at tinyurl.com/43jmf5vn.
