Her grade point was average, her determination exceptional.
That’s what Rotary official were looking for when recent Brandon High School graduate Alexandra Bieber was awarded one of the seven Strive Scholarships.
The Scholarship from the Ortonville chapter of Rotary International was designed for students, like Bieber, with rocky high school days but were willing to work hard for change. For the seven local recipients, one of the most important lessons learned in high school was they were worthy of a second chance.
Strive committee chairperson Ernst Ludwig said the Strive Scholarship was designed to encourage success from students who may be struggling academically and has been available to students of BHS since 2000. ‘The idea is, these kids wouldn’t be able to get a scholarship from traditional programs,? said Ludwig. ‘Our program targets with 2.6 GPA and lower. We wanted to create something to challenge them.?
Bieber’s mother, Wendy VanSipe, said her daughter floundered initially at BHS.
‘The first two years of high school she was not doing the greatest,? said VanSipe.
Bieber herself readily admits to having academic apathy during her freshman and sophomore years.
‘Basically I wasn’t interested,? said Bieber. ‘It just wasn’t important to me.?
However, after two years of disinterest, Bieber found herself wanting to do better. It was at that time she made a commitment to the Strive program.
Ludwig said Rotary members work with BHS counselors during the first few weeks of the school year to determine which students may benefit from the program. Student in the lower third of their class are then invited to attend an assembly explaining the Strive Scholarship program. Interested students then sign a contract committing themselves to putting their full effort into doing well at school.
‘You signed a contract saying you were going to try your best to just do better,? said Bieber.
‘It’s something they have to sign, not a parent or a teacher, so we’re treating them like adults,? said Ludwig. ‘I tell them, I really don’t care why you struggled before, my interest is what you do from this day forward. Most scholarship programs look at the past, we try to say ‘what you do from this day forward is what counts.??
Bieber’s GPA for her senior year was a 3.8.
‘I got all ‘A’s and ‘B’s this year,? Bieber says proudly. ‘It took two years but it kind of clicked and I realized I just had to do better.?
‘She stepped right up,? said VanSipe. ‘We’re very proud of her.?
Ludwig says students are responsible for their own success in the program.
‘We got about 34 signed commitment forms (this school year)’probably half of those take it really seriously,? said Ludwig.
Bieber said her scholarship money is designated to be used at Oakland Community College, which she plans to begin attending in the fall. For her, the Strive scholarship served as inspiration to get on track.
‘It’s really nice because if you do bad your first few years and your GPA is low, you think ‘there’s no reason to try anymore because I can’t get a scholarship,?? said Bieber. ‘This gives students a reason to build their grades back up and try harder.?
VanSipe agrees.
‘I guess I feel that it gives her more of a goal to shoot for, to know she has someone backing her,? said VanSipe. ‘I hope they keep this program going, I think it’s a really good thing.?
For other students who may have started off on the wrong track academically, Bieber has some advice; ‘If you’re doing bad, don’t give up hope. If you try really hard, there is someone willing to help you out.
‘You can kind of save yourself.?