Rotary awards scholarships to Gateway High School seniors

Monroeville Rotary held a scholarship luncheon on May 23 at the Courtyard by Marriott, where four Gateway seniors were awarded college scholarships.

Bill Segar, who passed away in 2008, was an active Rotarian and District Governor. He was on the Gateway School Board for 28 years and a baseball coach for 40 years.

“Upon his passing, the Segar family wanted to continue his legacy by establishing a scholarship based solely on academic excellence,” said Rotarian Susan Delaney.

Mark Seger said his father was passionate about the education of young people. Bill stuttered as a child and was forever grateful to the teacher who helped him overcome that obstacle.

“A little bit of time goes a long way with people,” said Mark, a 1985 Gateway graduate. “It’s the time you invest in people that pays out.”

The Bill Segar Scholarship was granted to valedictorian Nathan Weikel.

“This is recognition and validation of my hard work,” said Weikel, who plans to attend the University of Pittsburgh Honors College for engineering. “Thank you.”

Recipients Briana Harper, Jayla Chase and Sedem Agbodzie received scholarships based on academics, financial need and their community service.

“Thank you for seeing the potential in me,” said Harper, who was accompanied by her father Hasan and brother Deon.

Harper will attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania for accounting. In addition to National Honor Society, Briana is part of the Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy and plays tennis.

Jayla Chase is part of National Honor Society, the high school musical, marching band, student government and Larry Cervi’s East End Kids.

Chase, who was accompanied by her mother Mary, will attend Seton Hill University with a dual major in music education and integrated dance studies.

Sedem Agbodzie is president of Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy, an ambassador for the Big Future Program and maintains a 3.45 GPA. Sedem will go to the University of Pittsburgh for journalism.

Due to exams, Agbodzie was unable to attend. Her aunt, Annette, was present to accept her scholarship award.

In order to determine the recipients, Rotary starts with the applications that are submitted to the school counselors for various scholarship programs. Application information includes the colleges students have been accepted to, major areas of concentration, any other scholarship money awarded, academics, school activities, leadership roles, employment, financial need and — most importantly — community service involvement.

“For Rotary, the essay and, finally, the interview rank high,” said Delaney, who added that the scholarship committee narrows down the list to 25 students who are then interviewed.

“There are so many deserving students that we wish we could award scholarships to,” said Delaney, adding that the selection process is very objective. “We only see numbers for applicants, and not names, until the final interviews. It is also important to note that the Monroeville Rotary is primarily a community service organization which operates both internationally and nationally.”

The organization fundraises continuously throughout the year in order to provide annual scholarships.

Monroeville Rotary meets every Thursday at noon at the Courtyard by Marriott, located at 3962 William Penn Hwy.