#1StudentNWI: Portage High School Senior Announced As A 2021 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipient

#1StudentNWI: Portage High School Senior Announced As A 2021 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipient

What’s happened?

Several students from Portage High School have competed at regionals for Business Professionals of America. The following students have advanced to the State Leadership Conference in March: Adam Fritz, Jonathan Kenny, William Kenzie, Aidan Lineberry, Matthew Lopez, Carter Mullins, Kwadejah Marfo, Kadin Overton, Spencer Perry, Logan Reese, Trevor Shively, Isaac Snuffer and Zachary Young.

What's coming up?

The Portage High School Thespians annual spring musical is approaching. This year's spring musical will occur on April 23 and April 24. Based on Charles Schulz's comic strip, the musical will be "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown!"

With charm, wit and heart, the musical aims to explore life through the eyes of Charlie Brown and his friends in the Peanuts gang. While there is hope to host the annual spring musical live for audiences to attend, the Thespians are mindful of COVID-19 restrictions. Therefore, they will consider opting for a similar approach of a podcast just as they did for their fall play “The War of the Worlds.”

Auditions will be held January 27 and January 28 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Callbacks will occur on January 29 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Student spotlight

Senior Jasmine Garrido from Portage High School has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Lilly Endowment Scholarship. 

In June, Garrido will graduate from Portage High School with an academic honors diploma. In addition to her strong academic ethic, Garrido has participated in several extracurricular activities such as marching band, pep band and National Honors Society.

Between engaging in extracurricular activities and maintaining average grades, Garrido admits that high school was difficult when it came to balancing her social life and school.

“Sometimes I have to sacrifice hanging out with friends to study for a test I may have the next day,” Garrido said. “On the other hand, if I really want to hang out with my friends I will. I personally think that hanging out with your friends and simply relaxing with them is just as important as any other aspect of high school. It acts as a stress-reliever when school feels hectic.”

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program offers recipients a four-year, full tuition scholarship to an accredited public or private Indiana college or university of their choice. While the scholarship does not cover the expense of room, board and travel expenses, recipients will receive an annual $900 stipend for required books and equipment. 

Garrido plans on attending Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington to major in International Business and Marketing. While there, Garrido looks forward to what the future holds for her.

“Life after high school is always exciting for young adults because we get to experience our own sense of freedom,” Garrido said. “I’m attending Indiana University Bloomington because the campus is honestly beautiful, but also because it's one of the top business schools in the country. While I’m there, I hope I can meet new people and partake in new experiences.”

While the highlight of Garrido’s high school experience will always be seeing her friends grow and develop into great individuals, she’s also grateful for the time she was able to learn more about herself. 

“Throughout my high school experience, I learned that my happiness is the most important thing. I should always do things that benefit me and not have me stressed all the time,” Garrido said. 

As Garrido’s senior year comes to an end, she wishes to leave advice for the upcoming seniors, the class of 2022. 

“With everything that has occurred this year, the biggest lesson of all should be to honestly live life to its fullest and enjoy every ounce of it,” Garrido said. “Life is too short to be stressed over small things that you will look back on and regret wasting your time over. Allow yourself to find what you truly desire in life and thrive off of that.”