In the coming weeks thousands of area high school students, clad in black robes, will across a stage, shake a hand, usually belonging to a principal or a school administrator, walk out a door and end something.
What they begin next is partly up to them, at a job they pick or a college they choose in a town or state they’ve settled on. The next step is a big one, but for scores of students at Crete-Monee High School, the step is made a little easier with dozens of scholarships provided by area businesses and charitable groups.
Those students were celebrated Thursday at a scholarship presentation with dozens of friends and family filling the high school auditorium.
Crete-Monee Principal Lamont Holifield said the students’ work proved itself through the scholarships, though he also noted the role of parents, friends and family.
“Your belief in the power of education has guided them on this remarkable journey,” Holifield said. “Tonight is a testament to your dedication.”
Some of the scholarships covered the first year of higher education and others more, but Holifield praised the students’ grit in going farther than many others.
“Your hard work, determination and your passion have set you apart,” he told the soon-to-be graduates. He said the monetary pledges were “a vote of confidence in your potential to make a difference in the world.”
He also told them they had an obligation, as the mandate of education is to “serve others and create a brighter future for all.”
While most of the presenters represented longtime area businesses and civic groups, including the Lions Club and the Masonic Lodge, one of the newer businesses to provide scholarships was the Witherite Law Group, a national legal office specializing in trucking accidents.
Owner Amy Witherite explained her law group wants to work to eliminate student loan debt as a barrier to college for young people.
Kaycee Berkley, a senior at Crete-Monee High School, receives a scholarship from the Witherite Law Group May 9, 2024. (Jesse Wright/for Daily Southtown)
“Student loan debt has been and continues to be an incredible burden on youth in America who are working to pursue higher education,” said Witherite, whose company set up a Chicago office in 2023. “For some, they choose to not attend college at all because the financial requirement is too great. We hope these scholarships help alleviate some of that burden and support students that deserve this award through the hard work they have showcased.”
Maya Hightower, who works at the law firm and is a Crete-Monee graduate, presented 21 scholarships to schools around the country, saying it took months of interviewing students to make a final determination. Hightower said the process wasn’t easy, but the final 21 represent some of the brightest of their graduating class. Each student got a Making a Difference Scholarship of $2,500.
She said the law firm will fund the students so long as they continue to display academic excellence.
“Not only their first year, but every year they’re in school they have the opportunity to receive $2,500 in scholarship funds,” she said. “You are not just receiving a monetary reward; you’re receiving a vote of confidence.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
