VWHS students earn scholarship money

VW independent staff/submitted information

Six recent Van Wert High School graduates earned college scholarships during an online “Believe in Ohio” statewide competition

The two-man team of Joshua Reichert and Robert Spath each won a STEM Commercialization Plan $5,000 scholarship for their plan title of binder ring correction. Ian Rex and Natalie Benner each won an identical scholarship for their plan title, improved shopping wheel caster. Hunter Sherer and Keigen Martz each won a $10,000 scholarship for their plan, new spike design for cross country shoes.

Funded by the State of Ohio through the Department of Higher Education and operated as a program of The Ohio Academy of Science, Believe in Ohio is a STEM and entrepreneurship program that teaches students how to commercialize products and services and create business plans that are driven by innovation.

A total of 37 STEM Commercialization and STEM Business Plans were awarded with $277,500 in scholarships at the Believe in Ohio State Competition. These scholarships can only be used to attend an Ohio college, university, or technical college. In 2022, the Believe in Ohio program awarded $468,500 scholarships in total.

“This year’s projects were not only amazing, but also very inspiring”, said Michael E. Woytek, Executive Director for The Ohio Academy of Science. “The Believe in Ohio program provides students with a vision of what’s possible as it broadens and builds critical skills needed to compete in today’s economy. It also provides them with a sense of purpose for pursuing post-secondary opportunities, here in Ohio”.

Believe in Ohio is a free, comprehensive, curriculum-based, STEM and entrepreneurship program for Ohio high school students. The program is designed to create a “Culture of Innovation” and to prepare students to meet the demands of a rapidly changing labor market and become contributors to Ohio’s innovation economy.

For more information about Believe in Ohio, visit www.believeinohio.org.