12/21/16
HAYS, Kan. -- The time is now for high school students in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska to sign up for the 2017 edition of Fort Hays State University's program to recognize prospective college students and their families.

The annual 12-city tour begins this year in Kansas City, where that area's Student Recognition Program will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, in the Doubletree Hotel, 10100 College Blvd., Overland Park.

A highlight at each event is the recognition of students who have already been awarded scholarships to FHSU for the next academic year, but the SRP mission is to recognize all students interested in college and provide them with the opportunity to meet faculty and staff from the university.

High school juniors and seniors and transfer students in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado have been invited to Student Recognition Programs in their areas. The programs are held in communities across Kansas, in southern Nebraska and in Denver to accommodate area students and their parents or guardians and families.

Any student who lives outside the designated SRP areas (listed in the schedule at the end of this news release) is welcome to attend the nearest SRP but must RSVP by calling 785-628-5673 or by signing up online through the RSVP link at http://www.fhsu.edu/admissions/student-recognition-program-dates/.

Receptions hosted in each locale by the Office of Admissions include dessert or pizza buffets. Students and their friends and families have the opportunity to mingle with FHSU faculty, staff and administrators and with area FHSU alumni before and after the scholarship presentations.

Many high school seniors and transfer students will receive certificates for a variety of scholarships awarded to them by FHSU.

The public is welcome to attend.

Scholarships to be awarded at the SRPs include the $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction, the $2,000 University Scholar Award, the $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award, and the $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. All are awarded only to incoming freshmen enrolling in college for the first time, but each is renewable provided students maintain the minimum required academic standing.

A renewable $1,500 scholarship is available for transfer students, and a $1,000 non-renewable transfer scholarship is also available.

Other one-time awards recognized at the SRPs are the $900 or $500 Academic Opportunity Awards, given to scholars by individual academic departments.

Each SRP event also features three scholarship drawings -- a $400 FHSU Student Recognition Program Scholarship, a $500 textbook scholarship and another for an iPad. Four $400 SRP scholarships are awarded at the reception in Hays.

The SRP schedule includes the area served at each program site.

Overland Park, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Doubletree Hotel, 10100 College Blvd. Dessert will be served. The Overland Park SRP serves students from 12 eastern Kansas counties: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte.

Topeka, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Ramada Inn, 420 SE Sixth St. Dessert will be served. Topeka serves students from 14 counties: Brown, Coffey, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Lyon, Marshall, Morris, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee and Wabaunsee.

Denver, 2 p.m. Mountain time Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Renaissance Denver Hotel, 3801 Quebec St. Dessert will be served. The Denver SRP serves students from all Colorado counties except for Bent, Baca, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Kit Carson and Prowers counties, which are served by SRP programs in Colby and Garden City.

Beloit, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, at Beloit High School, 1711 Walnut. Pizza will be served. The Beloit SRP is for students from the Kansas counties of Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic and Washington and from the cities of Osborne and Downs in Osborne County. Students from the Nebraska counties of Clay, Jefferson, Nuckolls and Thayer are also invited.

Great Bend, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, at Great Bend High School, 19th and Morton. Pizza will be served. Students invited to the Great Bend SRP are from Barton, Pawnee, Pratt, Rice, Russell and Stafford counties and from the cities of Bison and Otis in Rush County.

Wichita, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb.12, at the Marriott, 9100 Corporate Hills Drive. Dessert will be served. The Wichita SRP serves students from 19 south-central and southeast Kansas counties: Barber, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Reno, Sedgwick, Sumner, Wilson and Woodson.

Salina, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, at Salina South High School, 730 E. Magnolia Road. Pizza will be served. Students from eight counties are invited to Salina: Chase, Clay, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Marion, McPherson, Ottawa and Saline.

Colby, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at Colby High School, 1890 S. Franklin. Pizza will be served. Students from nine Kansas counties, two Colorado counties and four Nebraska counties are invited to the Colby SRP: Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas and Wallace in Kansas; Cheyenne and Kit Carson in Colorado; and Chase, Dundy, Hayes and Hitchcock counties in Nebraska.

Garden City, 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at Garden City High School, 2720 Buffalo Way. Dessert will be served. Garden City serves students from 13 southwest Kansas counties and four southeast Colorado counties: Finney, Grant, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Lane, Morton, Scott, Seward, Stanton, Stevens and Wichita in Kansas; and Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers counties in Colorado.

Dodge City, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at Dodge City High School, 2201 W. Ross Road. Pizza will be served. The Dodge City SRP serves eight counties -- Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford, Gray, Hodgeman, Kiowa and Meade -- and Ness City in Ness County.

Hays, 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in FHSU's Memorial Union, 700 College Drive. Dessert will be served. The Hays SRP serves students from seven counties, including some formerly served by an SRP in Phillipsburg: Ellis, Graham, Norton, Phillips, Rooks, Smith and Trego counties and from the cities of La Crosse in Rush County, Natoma in Osborne County, and Ransom in Ness County.

Holdrege, Neb., 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at The Tassel, 1324 Tilden St. Pizza will be served. Students from 14 Nebraska counties are invited to the Holdrege SRP: Adams, Buffalo, Dawson, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Hall, Harlan, Kearney, Lincoln, Phelps, Red Willow and Webster.

PHOTO: A student poses for a picture with her scholarship certificate at the 2016 Garden City Student Recognition Program in February.