(April 28, 2008) The Better Business Bureau Foundation today announced that Katherine Rose Erickson, Molly Soholt and Kelsey Jo Bigando have received the 2008 Scott Mecham BBB Student of Integrity Awards Scholarships, worth $2,000 each, for their demonstrated ethical behavior and character. The Integrity Award Scholarships are awarded annually to junior or senior high school students that reside in Nebraska, South Dakota and southwest Iowa, the geographic areas served by the BBB.
Katherine is a senior at Wauneta-Palisade High School, in Wauneta, Nebraska. Molly is a senior at Washington High School, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Kelsey is graduating from Harry S. Burke High School, in Omaha Nebraska.
“Unlike many other scholarships, grades, financial need and ethnicity are not the major factors in the selection of a ‘Student of Integrity.’ These students won this prestigious award because of their personal integrity and commitment to honesty and accountability inside and outside of the classroom,” said Jim Hegarty, president and chief executive officer of the BBB. “Even though the BBB is commonly known for alerting the public to current scams in the marketplace, giving business reliability reports and handling consumer complaints, we feel that the Student of Integrity Awards takes the Better Business Bureau’s dedication to education to the next level.”
The ‘Student of Integrity’ scholarships were established to honor the memory of Mr. Mecham, a former BBB president, and to nurture future ethical business leaders. Independent panels of judges from the academic and business communities selected the scholarship recipients. The applications included an essays and letters of recommendation. The scholarship winners will be recognized at their school’s honor assemblies and at a BBB Integrity Awards luncheon in September. For more information about The Scott Mecham BBB Student of Integrity Awards, please visit www.bbb.org.