Hey everyone, it’s the Straight “A” intern, Courtney!

It’s that time of year again! The nominations for our Straight “A” Scholarship are in full swing, but the deadline is quickly approaching.

The Straight “A” Scholarship is a great opportunity for high school students in the Tri-State area. This scholarship awards students who are pursuing Academic excellence, Athletic achievement, is Actively serving in the community while possessing a strong Ambition, a winning Attitude and the ability to overcome Adversity. Any student (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors) with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA can be nominated, but only seniors are eligible to receive the scholarship money.

We will be awarding thousands of dollars to eighteen senior finalists who will be honored at our luncheon at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse on Tuesday, April 16th. You do not want to miss out on this opportunity!

Let’s take a look at our Straight “A” Spotlight, where we feature past scholarship recipients, their stories and their recent successes. Here’s one of our 2018 Finalists, Ben Tobbe’s story.

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“I had begun feeling pain in my lower abdomen during the summer before my junior year. I figured my pain would dissipate eventually, but it kept getting worse. I became kind of numb. It was a feeling that is so impossible to describe: I was feeling so much but also nothing at the same time. When the results from my CT scan came back, the doctors concluded that the pain was being caused by a large mass, believed to be a germ cell tumor. They wanted to bring me in for more tests the next day to see if it was malignant.

The next day, I was at the hospital waiting for a verdict. After what felt like an eternity, I was dubbed cancer-free. But there was still one problem. I still had an enormous mass in my body called a lymphatic malformation. But I wasn’t going to let it stop me from living my life.

Fighting through the pain so I can go to school was one thing, but getting myself ready to get back on the court was much tougher. After a summer of feeling out my body and fighting through days of pain where I couldn’t even walk, I took the court on November 28th for the first game of the season.

Throughout this last year I have come to realize that life will knock you down. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, but how you many times you get back up.”

We contacted him to see what he was up to a year later, and this is what he had to say about the impact this opportunity had on his life.

“I am currently majoring in chemistry at Northern Kentucky University. College is definitely a big adjustment from high school, but I think I have started pretty well as I finished my first semester with a 4.0 GPA. I still plan on attending pharmacy school to earn my Doctor of Pharmacy degree after my undergraduate schooling.

The Anthony Muñoz Foundation and the Straight “A” Scholarship have, in my opinion, been a crucial part of my successful start to my college career. Worrying about how to pay for college is one of the biggest stressors in student has to face, but the scholarship allowed me to attend in NKU on a full scholarship (using my academic scholarship from NKU and the Straight “A” Scholarship)! I believe that lifting the weight of debt off of my shoulders allowed me to focus more on my studying and helped me achieve in all my classes.

I am very thankful for everything the Anthony Muñoz Foundation has provided for me!”

Ben is on the road to success and we can’t wait to see where this journey takes him!

Ready to nominate a deserving student? Click here.

You can find more information about the Straight “A” Scholarship opportunity at munozfoundation.orgIf you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at straighta@munozfoundation.org.  

-Courtney