The College Club of St. Louis was founded in 1901 by a group of distinguished women from St. Louis, with the intent to empower young women to achieve and reach high in their aspirations.  Their scholarship program followed in 1906, and since then they have awarded over $1.7 million to 757 graduating female seniors.  Parkway West is one of the six schools in St. Louis to contribute candidates, and four senior women were chosen as recipients this year.  Seniors Fatemeh Farzam, Kathryn Hunter, Laila Kuziez, and Sydney Merriman are set to receive scholarships from the program.

“I was so happy when I received my letter saying that I had received a scholarship, my mom and I were screaming for a good ten minutes,” Merriman said.

To apply for the scholarship program, the candidates completed an application, wrote a short essay, and participated in an interview if they were called back.

“It was hard to start filling out the application, but once I finished, it was definitely worth it,” Merriman said.

The requirements are strict to keep the scholarship, which is valid for of the first year of college.  They include keeping at least a 3.0 GPA and providing a list of courses completed each semester.

“Freshman year is tough in college.  You’re trying to figure out all of your expenses and financial limitations, and this scholarship will be very beneficial in giving me an extra boost,” Kuziez said.

All recipients will find out the amount they have been awarded during a luncheon on April 23 with the members of the College Club.

“This scholarship means that there is less for my parents and I to pay, and that’s great,” Merriman said.

Farzam graduated early last semester and is undecided, Hunter is undecided on a college with a major in theatre, Kuziez is attending either St. Louis College of Pharmacy with a major in pharmaceutics or SLU with a major in Biology or Literature, and Merriman plans to attend Truman State with a major in Chemistry.