ESCANABA & GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Thursday, Bay College surprised two local high school seniors will full-ride scholarships.
Escanaba High School senior Aubrey Stropich was called into the library to find Bay College staff, her guidance counselor, and her family waiting for her. Admissions Director Jessica Beaver presented Stropich with an oversized check for Bay’s prestigious Board of Trustees Elite Scholarship.
“Applicants have to be recommended by their high school guidance counselors,” Beaver explained. “They must have a 3.8 cumulative GPA, then we at Bay invite them to apply for the scholarship. After that, they have to have two letters of reference, they have to write an essay. It’s pretty hard to get!”
The Board of Trustees Elite Scholarship covers the recipients’ tuition, fees, and books for two years. Stropich was ecstatic to be one of only three seniors to receive the scholarship this year.
“I’m like actually shaking,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know if you can see it, but I am so excited and so thankful. When I got the first call, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to have to compete and go into a big thing.’ I didn’t know it was going to be an immediate, I walk in here and get this, so it’s huge to me.”
Stropich plans to study psychology, with the goal of working in criminal psychology and forensics. She says she’s grateful to be able to start that journey at Bay.
“It’s close to home and it’s a good experience to go in and get a couple years in college at home before I go off and do something else in a bigger place,” said Stropich.
That evening, Bay College representatives took the field between back-to-back Gladstone Braves softball games to present Gladstone High School senior Addie Trombley with the scholarship. Trombley’s teammates cheered her on from the dugout as she accepted her check.
“I was not expecting this at all,” she said. “It feels so amazing that I was accepted for such a big scholarship. It means so much to me because I’ve been working really hard to earn this money for my college education.”
Trombley says the two years of free tuition and books will be a great help as she begins her nursing studies.
“All my life, I’ve kind of had the idea of going into the medical field, then I had a recent injury and that kind of solidified my decision,” she said. “I’ve taken a couple tours and I love [Bay College’s] nursing program and all their simulations. I’ve heard so many great things about it.”
Beaver says Bay College is thrilled to welcome these deserving students to campus after they complete their senior year.
“We want access to education, so anything that we can do to help students get that,” she said. “Especially those that are over-achievers, it’s just that extra nudge to stay here in the community, get an education with Bay, so that they can then transfer and do bigger and better things.”
The third Board of Trustees Elite Scholarship was awarded to a recipient in North Dickinson earlier this week.
