TORRINGTON – Another week, another Goshen County student earning an exclusive scholarship. Sydney West, senior at Torrington High School, recently learned she received the Kaiser Foundation Scholarship – $4,000 a year, renewable for as long as five years – for a potential $20,000 toward her education.
“With every scholarship I’ve applied for, I have … a written-out resume,” West explained. “With paragraphs instead of the standard resume (format). I also submit three letters of recommendation, transcripts, and I’ve written an essay about what drove me to want to go into psychology.”
Despite her preparations, West said she was surprised to receive the Kaiser Foundation Scholarship.
“I was shocked,” she said. “I sent out a lot of applications. When I learned how big the scholarship I received was, it was a game changer for my schooling for sure.”
The Kaiser Foundation annually selects 10 graduates from Wyoming public high schools. A three-person committee from each school chooses one student’s completed application to be sent to the executive director of the Kaiser Foundation. Only an application submitted by the guidance counselor or high school principal is accepted.
Recipients must maintain a good GPA, full-time student status and attend an institution of higher learning for a consecutive period, not to exceed five years or until obtaining a bachelor’s degree, to remain eligible.
Typically, the foundation sees more than 50 applications.
“For my first year (of college), I’m planning on staying in Torrington and attending (Eastern Wyoming College) and then I’m planning to go Laramie to the University of Wyoming,” West said, adding her tentative plan is to major in psychology. “I definitely want to go into counseling, and I definitely want to get my master’s degree.”
In 2004, Curt E. Kaiser Jr., a Shoshoni native and prominent Wyoming businessman, unexpectedly passed away, according to the Foundation’s website.
For more than 30 consecutive years, the Kaiser Foundation has awarded over $1.5 million in scholarships to students representing high schools throughout Wyoming.
West, who participates in tennis, National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, credits her mother for her help in securing funds for the future.
“My mom has been a big part (of the process),” she said. “She pulls together scholarships I should apply for, and I just do all of the work.”
West is the daughter of Jill and step-father Lyndon Pierce.
For more information about the Kaiser Foundation, visit http://www.kaiserfoundationinc.com.
