Mehlville-Oakville Foundation Awards College Scholarships

Tuesday’s Mehlville-Oakville Foundation Recognition Reception was full of poignant and proud moments. The community-based nonprofit organization, which supports the Mehlville School District’s students and staff, administered $7,250 in college scholarships to Mehlville High and Oakville High seniors.

After opening remarks from President Deb Langland, several private scholarships were awarded in memory of loved ones who have died. 

At both Mehlville and Oakville High Schools, one college-bound senior receives the $1,000 Mehlville-Oakville Foundation scholarship each year. This year, those recipients were Jessica Jirsa from Mehlville and Xi Wang from Oakville. The foundation fundraises primarily through a walk/run event. 

“The walk/run encompasses the whole community. We have corporate sponsors that help support the foundation and their good works. They are supporting our students and our staff here at Mehlville,” said Marea Kluth-Hoppe, a judge and a co-chair of the walk/run.

Mini-grant and scholarship judge Mary Britt took a moment to thank those who either donated or judged in the application process. 

“The rest of the money comes from the walk/run in October and our money-saver cards,” Britt said. “I also want to thank those who helped judge the scholarships. They graciously went through all of the applicants. We didn’t know the names of anyone when we were going through them. They were unbiased, and no one knew who they were until they were notified.”

Langland also took a moment to recognize the sponsors and said that the foundation is always looking for more. 

"Basically, we raise between $35,000 and $40,000 a year, and just about all of that goes back to the school in some way,” Langland said. “We would like to give back a lot more, but in order to give more you have to get more. We have a great group of volunteers here to work with, and we are all very dedicated to the great teachers and students in our district. We think we have the best schools in Missouri.”

In addition to awarding scholarships to graduating seniors each year, the foundation also provides financial support for tutoring for at-risk students, special educational programs and activities and mini-grants for district teachers.

Congratulations to the following scholarship recipients:

Mehlville High:

William B. Nottelmann Music ($500): Katherine Barry and Lucas Vetter

Joshua Carl Wrestling ($750): Kyle Robert Schaeffer

Ellen Kaye Palmier ($500): Moriah Deanna Bolen

Mehlville-Oakville Foundation ($1,000): Jessica Jirsa

B. W. Fulks Memorial ($1,000): Kelsey Louise Crabtree

Oakville High:

Robert Heymeyer Memorial ($500): Zahra Haider

Ben Vogelsang Baseball ($500): Bradley David Lance

Mehlville-Oakville Foundation ($1,000): Xi Wang

B. W. Fulks Memorial ($1,000): Yvonne Galing Chu