Topeka, KS – The Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC) has awarded five scholarships totaling $10,000 to five recent Kansas high school graduates. The students wrote essays demonstrating their knowledge of money management and the importance it has on their future in this year’s Kansas Financial Scholars Essay Contest.
Carter Oehme, from Manhattan High School, earned the first-place designation in the annual contest sponsored by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC). Carter plans to attend Kansas State University to pursue a degree in Industrial Engineering and will receive a $3,000 scholarship towards his education.
The second-place scholarship of $2,500 was awarded to Adriana Tetley from Olathe South High School, Taylor Rowe from Jefferson West High School earned third, and a $2,000 scholarship. Fourth, with a $1,500 scholarship was Avery Ziegler from Trego Community High School, and the fifth scholarship of $1,000 goes to Isaiah Garcia from Satanta Jr./Sr. High School.
When asked about this year’s scholarship contest, Bank Commissioner David Herndon said “Financial literacy benefits everyone and is a lifelong necessity. It is clear from reading their essays that all candidates who submitted scholarship applications clearly recognize that fact. Our scholarship judges were again impressed this year by the quality of the entries. Congratulations to each and best wishes to the five winners for a successful, challenging, and rewarding college experience.”
Consumer Affairs Manager Kristy Hanshaw added “The OSBC scholarship committee would like to congratulate the 2024 winners on their excellent essays highlighting the importance of financial literacy. From the outstanding quality of the winning essays, it is evident that these students have very bright futures, and we wish them nothing but continued success.”
To be eligible for this scholarship, students must have completed a financial literacy program that aligns with the Kansas financial literacy K-12 standards, and they must be attending a Kansas trade school, technical school, college, or university in the Fall of 2024. To enter, the students were asked to submit a two-part essay. The first part discussed how they learned about money management, and its effect on their approach to managing financial decisions for their continued education. For the second part, they described how they used the knowledge gained through their financial literacy program and personal experience. The essay also required research and the use of an educational cost calculator.
Carter Oehme’s winning essay and additional information about the winners will be available on the website of the Office of the State Bank Commissioner, www.osbckansas.org.
Educating Kansas consumers is an important part of the mission of the OSBC. There are many different financial literacy programs and curriculum used in high schools and this contest challenges students to use that knowledge to research and analyze decisions they will make for their futures. The scholarships are funded by fines imposed and collected from non-depository regulated institutions, or settlements reached with companies within the jurisdiction of the OSBC. No taxpayer monies or bank assessment funds are used.
