Seniors Jack Christian and Heidi Johnson each received a $450 A. Dale Lacky Scholarship, the Sac-Joaquin Section announced recently.
Forty-nine students received a total of $26,350.
The scholarships are awarded annually to seniors for outstanding athletic performance, academic success and community service. Applicants must have at least a 3.70 unweighted grade-point average and 1,000 SAT or 19 ACT score. Students also must have competed in a varsity sport for at least two years.
Once nominated by teachers, students complete an extensive application, including recommendation letters from athletic directors, coaches and heads of high school, an essay on sportsmanship and a comprehensive list of athletic and academic achievements.
Christian and Johnson were nominated by athletic director Matt Vargo and head of high school Brooke Wells.
“It was really hard to decide who to nominate (this year), as we had a lot of very strong candidates,” Vargo said. “It looks like we chose correctly because both of them won.”
Throughout high school, Christian participated in baseball and soccer, and Johnson competed in track and field, volleyball and basketball.
“I was honored to be nominated and am very grateful that I ended up receiving a scholarship,” Johnson said.
Christian agreed, adding that he was “blown away” when he found out that he had been awarded a scholarship.
“I think that us winning really comes down to our applications,” Christian said. “At Country Day, teachers put a lot of effort and time into our letters of recommendation, and I think that really made us stand out.
“Heidi (and I) also had a lot of experience writing essays at Country Day for classes and college applications.”
Christian added that attending SCDS gave him a chance to earn an A. Dale Lacky Scholarship.
“Being at Country Day has opened up so many opportunities for me, allowing me to take AP classes, participate on the Mock Trial team and on Octagon, and even play at a varsity level throughout high school,” Christian said. “Country Day has really allowed me to become a very well-rounded student.”
Scholarship recipients will have their names printed on the back of Crystal milk cartons.
—By Arjin Claire
