Kearney Center High School Grad Receives Four-Year Scholarship from Board of Trustees.
Kansas City, Mo. – Joshua Boehm, a Spring 2009 graduate from Kearney Center High School, has been named a University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Trustees’ Scholar. When he enters the urban planning and design program at UMKC in the fall, he will receive a scholarship valued at $55,000 over four years. Boehm’s award is supported by the UMKC Board of Trustees, the founder of the scholarship program.
Boehm took part in community awareness drives, fund raisers and service trips, participating in the National Honor Society blood drive, the Eyes on AIDS run and Cystic Fibrosis walk, and traveling to New Orleans to help that city rebuild. Boehm ranked 1st in his class and was a member of the marching band, wind ensemble and numerous academic clubs.
In the essay Boehm submitted to the Trustees’ Scholars selection committee, he emphasized his lifelong love of urban planning and city governance.
“When kids shared their dreams of wanting to be football stars or construction workers or doctors, I was the one who wanted to grow up to be an urban planner. Every Monday night I rode my bike to the Kearney City Hall for the Board of Aldermen Planning and Zoning Commission meetings. “I see planning as a transcendent art, one that displays our core values. If it is important to us to be less dependent on oil, or to be safe on our way to school – we have to plan for that kind of community.”
UMKC Trustees’ Scholars receive a scholarship package for the first two years that covers educational fees, a textbook allowance and room and board. For the third and fourth years, the financial package covers educational fees, a textbook and supply allowance, and $2,000 for housing. In addition, scholars may have an opportunity to work as interns for their sponsoring entities.
The scholarship sponsors provide approximately $400,000 over four years to each annual class of up to 10 scholars. The Fall 2009 semester will usher in the eighth class of UMKC Trustees’ Scholars, bringing to 71 the number of students receiving this high honor since the program began in 2002.
The scholarships are merit-based and require fulfillment of at least two of three academic criteria: 1) a score of 30 or higher on the ACT test, 2) finishing in the top 5 percent of one’s graduating high school class, 3) a 3.5 (or greater) cumulative high school grade point average in the core curriculum.
The UMKC Trustees’ Scholars Program is unique in that it aligns students closely with corporate sponsors, who give students access to their professional knowledge and experience, insight into the inner workings of the company or institution they represent, and a strong mentor relationship to guide students throughout the college experience.
The deadline for students to apply to the UMKC Trustees’ Scholars Program for the 2010-2011 academic year is November 15, 2009. For more information or an application, please contact Tammy Cloutier, assistant director of admissions, (816) 235-1206.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a three-part mission: visual and performing arts, health sciences, and urban engagement.