Five students from Portsmouth High School have been awarded the Governor’s Merit Scholarship to assist with the cost of attending higher education.
The scholarship provides up to $5,000 each year in financial assistance to high school seniors who are identified as graduating in the top 5% of their class. The students from Portsmouth High School are Madison Ankrom, Ayonna Carr, Piper Cunningham, Olivia Dickerson, and Zack Roth.
“These students consistently demonstrate outstanding academic and extra-curricular performance. They are really well-rounded students who exemplify what it means to be a Trojan,” said Portsmouth High School Counselor Rebecca Duncan. “This is going to help defray some of the cost of college, especially for students that are going away from home. This is something that they have been really working for and have been dedicated since their freshman year, or before that. These students knew that their hard work would pay off, and now it is.”
According to the Ohio Department of Higher Education, each year, 35-40% of Ohio's highest-achieving high school graduates attend college or university in another state. Approximately 66% of all U.S. college students stay to work in the state from which they graduate, and in Ohio that number is closer to 70%. Ohio has demonstrated significant success, recently, in attracting and retaining businesses. It is paramount that Ohio also competes to attract and retain a well-educated workforce.
For more information about Portsmouth City Schools, visit them online at www.portsmouthtrojans.net, or follow the school’s page on Facebook.