Today we will be featuring Mike Kruer, a 2011 Scholarship Fund recipient. We caught up with Mike to see what he was up to after graduation.
About Mike
A Highlands High School graduate and a fall 2014 graduate, Mike was also awarded $20,000 by the Foundation. Now that Mike has completed his college career, he volunteers for the Alexandria Police Department as a Explorer Post Adviser. He also enjoys playing soccer, going skiing, and volunteering a local animal shelters. He likes to live an active life, so he constantly tries to find more things to do to keep himself busy.
College Life
During the first weekend home from school of Mike’s freshman year, his grandfather, who raised him, passed away. This motivated Mike to complete his degree for his grandpa. Despite this incredibly hard time, Mike still had a blast at college. He made lifelong friends and learned a lot. For him, college was a real time for learning and becoming responsible in many areas, like making sure to get to class on time, managing a budget and keeping his grades where they should be. In college, Mike studied criminal justice and learned from some incredible professors. The experiences and the people he met and learned from have influenced who he is today and helped him become the person he is in the professional world.
Why You Should Apply
Mike’s story is moving, and we are happy to be a part of it. The impact the Foundation has had on him is also inspiring:
“The Scholarship provided to me by the Foundation has made college a much more manageable task. In today’s times, many college students have to take out a loan or multiple loans, as well as juggle school with a job to make ends meet. I was blessed with the scholarship so I just had to focus on my studies. This was very important so that I could achieve my full potential academically. I made the Dean’s List, which is no small feat. Without the Foundation’s scholarship, college would have been a lot more stressful and I probably would not have finished in three and a half years. This Foundation has made local student’s education dreams come true. I know it made mine come true. I am a college graduate with no debt and no financial stress. I appreciate everything this organization has done for me and all the staff and volunteers at the Foundation for making such a huge impact on the Tri-State area. The Foundation is changing lives and is an asset to the Tri-State area! For all those potential candidates out there that are reading this, please apply for all the scholarships and awards you can; money should never be an obstacle when you are chasing your dreams and your future.”
We want to help high school seniors like you have the same great college experience Mike had! The application for the scholarship can be found here, or you can share the opportunity with someone who could benefit from it.
Kaitlyn Fitzgerald
Events Intern