During winter break, seniors Gene Wong and William Chang were awarded $400 for being Santa Clara Lodge finalists in the Most Valuable Student Scholarship Contest sponsored by the Elks National Foundation.
Gene and William were two of the 33 male contestants in the running for the district-level judging round. William qualified for the state running as well, and if he makes it through that round, he will be in the running for the national round and will be required to submit a secondary application to the foundation near the end of March. An awards program is held in early May to honor all finalists.

The foundation awards 500 four-year scholarships to any high school students that are US citizens at the time of their application. Males and females compete separately. The scholarship competition was introduced to the senior class by class dean Dr. Matthew Harley near the beginning of the year.

“I was really happy to find out that my hard work paid off,” Gene said. “Four hundred dollars is not too bad for an hour’s work!”

The application consisted of an essay, an official transcript, SAT/ACT scores, and a counselor recommendation. The foundation also accepts “exhibits,” or supplemental materials that emphasize the student’s achievements in scholarship, leadership, athletics, drama, community service, and more.

“Filling out the scholarship was pretty easy since I just reused most of my college application materials,” Gene said.

William was happy to be recognized for his work and believes that other students should take advantage of these smaller opportunities.

“I really think people should be more watchful because it’s not just Intel that will give money,” he said. “There’s nothing like a little extra money to pay the bills!”