Scholarship night is a very special event for seniors and their families, as it is a night where students were recognized for all the effort these students have put into furthering their careers. Every year Owatonna High School gives out over $700,000 in scholarships to well deserving students. With there not being a scholarship event last year due to the pandemic, it was important that this year’s event was held in a covid friendly environment, while also effectively honoring students and their accomplishments.

This year’s scholarship night event was held in the gymnasium with an open house format. Throughout the night students would say their name, receive their scholarship and then take a picture with the person awarding the scholarship, as well as their families. This allowed for students to come and go as they please, as well as maintain their social distance and wear a mask if so desired. In addition to these reasons for the format, OHS Principal Mr. Kory Kath said, “We wanted families to be there and to really connect with their student, as well as the person awarding the scholarship. This event is really important to us, and I believe this format was very successful in making that connection with everyone.” This format ended up working out really well, and made for a fun and rewarding event for students and their families.

With a large sum of money to be given out to students in scholarships, there was a lot to go around. Scholarship amounts ranged anywhere from $20 to $160,000. While all are important, some students went above and beyond to achieve some of the higher tiered scholarships, which will benefit them enormously in the future. One of these scholarships includes senior Nolan Burmeister, who was awarded a $155,838 full ride Army ROTC scholarship to attend Saint John’s University. Burmeister said, “I worked really hard to get this scholarship, and it feels really good to finally see all that hard work pay off. I can’t wait to see what college as well as the Army has in store for me.” Though everyone didn’t get a full ride scholarship like Burmeister, 61 seniors at OHS received scholarship endorsements that contributed to furthering their education. 

The senior class at OHS has some really amazing talent. Whether it be academically, creatively, or athletically, the Class of 2021’s future is bright, and will definitely see major success down the road.