Clark Merit Dinner

One of the most prestigious scholarships you can win during your time at Coe is the Clark Merit Scholarship. This is named after K. Raymond Clark, a Coe student who graduated in 1930 and moved on to become a successful lawyer in Chicago. Clark loved Coe and gave a lot of his money back to the college over the years. When I give tours, Clark comes up at least twice: at the beginning when I talk about the Clark Alumni House and then again at the end of the tour when we go into the Clark Racquet Center.

The Clark Merit Scholarship is a big deal for the upperclassmen at Coe. Each year, five full tuition (for one year) scholarships are awarded to students. Students have to submit an application, composed of a resume and a personal, one page essay. From this batch of applications, the students are narrowed down into semi-finalists who come in for an interview with the three person committee. This year, I was fortunate enough to receive one of the five scholarships.

It was a long process. I wrote the essay and edited my resume in between exploring and working in NYC in the spring. I found out I received an interview the day I went to the Morgan Library with Brigid, only adding to the wonderfulness of the day. Upon returning to Wisconsin after NYC term, I drove down to Coe for my interview. I got the phone call congratulating me on the scholarship about a week after the interview. I remember being the only one in my house when I got the call and a long victory dance commenced when I got off the phone.

I received this scholarship and I also got the privilege to attend a dinner with the Board of Trustee when they come to campus in October to honor the Clark Merit scholars. The dinner was right before Fall Break and probably one of the best nights I've had at Coe.

The scholars: L to R: me, Miles, Abbey, and Kelli. Missing; Chloe. From Coe's Facebook page.

The dinner took place at the Cedar Rapids Country Club. I got to bring along a faculty/staff member who has been important to me during my time at Coe and I invited my FYS professor/advisor/one of my bosses the past two summers, Rick Eichhorn (and he brought his wife, Margaret).

It was a delicious dinner. The best part was seeing all the Trustees I had worked with and gotten to know during the Presidential Search. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday I was helping find Coe's next president and other times, it feels like it was ages ago. We had a chance to catch up and it brought back so many great memories from last year.

During this dinner, I was reminded time and time again how many amazing opportunities I have had at Coe. As I've mentioned before on this blog, I have been a part of so many incredible experiences; many more than I imagined when I first moved to Coe in August 2010. During my time here, I've had amazing mentors to guide and support me and a great group of friends I can always count on. I am so grateful my path has led me to Coe and I can't wait to see what the rest of my senior year has in store for me.