By Traci Mitchell
Hugo High School
Student Reporter

Scholarships are what every senior hopes for when graduation rolls around. Our main problem is that we never thought of this our freshman or junior year, that would have really helped. Most of us don’t even know that our high school Web site actually has information about scholarships. Mrs. Stepp, our high school’s counselor, has really worked hard trying to inform us of every opportunity she finds.
She introduced me to an amazing Web site, www.fastweb.com. It’s so easy to make an account and you can see pages of things for which you can apply.
Here’s how it works, tell them a little about yourself; your age, all of your interests and the activities you’re in, even if you have a part-time job. Then, they pick out scholarships that would apply to you. It’s sort of like a dating Web site, except you get matched up with scholarships for college instead.
The thing is, you really shouldn’t procrastinate like the majority of the senior class. We really wish that we had paid more attention to these things when we had more time. Instead, we’re trying to apply for every scholarship under the sun before graduation gets here.
Some of these scholarships may surprise you; the subject areas are interesting and fun. For example, “The Discover Card Tribute Scholarship” and “The Calgon Take Me Away Scholarship.” Not all of the scholarships involve essays. On Fastweb, there’s quite a few that require your creativity, like making your own slideshow, your own painting and one of the most popular is the “Duct Tape Scholarship.”
You actually make your own dress for prom out of Duct Tape, and you actually have to wear it out yourself. Duct Tape actually provides you with enough Duct Tape, so it doesn’t cost you a fortune.
So maybe every student in Hugo High isn’t going to show up to prom in Duct Tape, but there is a way for every student to get help for college. Keep your eyes open for scholarships, because not all of us can get to college on our own money.