Recognizing Salina’s Community Ambassadors
Sunflower Bank Salina awarded three scholarships to Kent Windholz, Whitney Vaughn, and Katie Sellers at the close of the bank’s first annual Community Ambassadors program.
Windholz, Vaughn, and Sellers received $1000, $500, and $250 scholarships, respectively, in part for a contemplative essay during the program and also for stellar academic and scholastic achievement throughout the year.
Eleven other students completed the Community Ambassadors program and were recognized at Monday’s graduation ceremony. Katie Pahls, Alex Krajicek, Tanner Scott, Megan Chaffee, Carnella Egana, Stephanie Lindsay, Kayla Wegner, Kirsten Lilak, Katie Staton, Randie Platt and Dan Clifford rounded out the program’s inaugural class.
Sunflower Bank’s Community Ambassadors program is designed to encourage young people to consider their hometown community as a viable place to live and work after completing their higher education, and to help foster entrepreneurship and financial responsibility among youth leaders.
The select high school seniors attended 2-hour sessions once a month for seven months. Session topics included financial basics, local government, economic development, and business leadership.
“We’re extremely proud of all our Community Ambassadors and hope we’ve given them an insight into the importance of their home community,” said Larry Britegam, president of Sunflower Bank Salina. “We hope the seminars help paint Salina not only as their hometown – but also a future destination.”
Sunflower Bank’s Community Ambassadors Scholarship Program provides three scholarships given locally within a Community Ambassadors class – a $1,000 scholarship, a $500 scholarship and a $250 scholarship. In addition, three additional $1000 scholarship recipients will be selected from the pool of all communities’ scholarship applicants.
Windholz, the grand-prize $1000 scholarship winner, is a senior at Southeast of Saline, and will attend the University of Kansas with sights on a career in architecture. Vaughn and Sellers are seniors at Salina South; Vaughn will attend Kansas State and pursue a career in fashion marketing or design. Sellers plans to attend Baker University and major in business or marketing.