While the end of senior year rounds the corner (and has already happened for some), many students are receiving their acceptance letters to the colleges of their dreams. Many deadlines follow the end of the year, especially the ones students seem to care about the most – scholarships.

Usually to obtain a scholarship, students fill out a form, take a test, or write an essay and hope for the best. Awards can be anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 and can help students tremendously.

Along with scholarship money, students have the ability to experience many new experiences, such as internships and competitions.

Senior Mackenzie Murphy was selected by the school board to represent the Wentzville School District in the John T. Belcher Scholarship.

“Whenever I got the preliminary application I was excited. Then whenever I was chosen- I wasn’t expecting it because we have a lot of really good kids in the Wentzville School District,” Murphy said.

The district recommends certain students that they believe have fulfilled certain requirements, who then fill out a preliminary application. The school board then decides from those applications who moves on to the regional round, where the winner of regionals will move to the state round.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity,” Murphy said.

Another senior, Isabel Storey who was awarded numerous scholarships for grades, ACT and the A Plus program, has also won an externship with the St. Louis Zoo.

“It is a little nerve wracking, just because you’re leaving what you’ve known for four years to go do something else that you’ve never done before, but it’s mainly exciting,” Storey said.

Storey plans on going to college to become a marine biologist, and had to apply for the externship as well as submit a resume, list references, and participate in a phone interview.

Storey starts the externship in January, and will start by helping clean the cages and care for the sea lions, which could possibly progress into becoming the announcer and helping out at shows.

By earning scholarships and externships, seniors are allowed to gain extra help, experience and opportunities that sometimes very rarely present themselves. Without scholarships, some students wouldn’t be able to go to certain schools, and externships give students the extra up when applying for certain jobs, scholarships or to colleges.