Every year, the Millersville Woman's Club (MWC) selects graduating seniors from the Penn Manor School District to honor for their achievements. During Penn Manor High School's commencement ceremony and on senior awards night, MWC handed out several awards and scholarships to students.

Lauren Stoner was selected to receive the Student of the Year Award. The award is given to a student who has acquired the Student of the Month Award at any point from freshman year to graduation. The Student of the Month Award is granted to those who demonstrate the qualities of an ideal student, such as being a hard worker, a kind classmate and an attentive pupil. "(The teachers) look back over four years' worth of students who were terrific kids and they pick one to receive a medal and $100 check, which we provide," said Jan Mindish, co-chair of MWC's education committee. "The award goes to someone who is representative of everything you want a student to be."

Three $1,000 scholarships were awarded; each is sponsored by MWC and was named to honor the club's founding members. The Betty Gurtizen Health Careers Scholarship was given to Abbie Kelly, who hopes to attend college to become a physician assistant. Anne Bibus received the Jean Roth Academic Scholarship and plans to study bioengineering in college. The Evelyn Wild Academic Scholarship was awarded to Nicole Chen, who seeks to major in aerospace engineering in college.

MWC also presented six $200 achievement awards for the subjects of art, English, math, music, science and social studies. Each of the school's departments convened to nominate a single student who has worked hard throughout high school. The recipients of the achievement awards included Madeline Whited for art, Elijah Julian for English, Anne Bibus for math and social studies, Nicole Chen for music, and Isabelle Kligge for science. MWC presented four additional achievement awards to Penn Manor students at the award ceremonies for local career and technology centers. Awards were given to Thomas James Alexander, Ella Coleman, Abigail Walborn and Jesslyn Lopez.

When Mindish first became involved with MWC, the club recognized the Student of the Year but did not give out a medal or a monetary award. She suggested the idea of offering a check for $100 and a medal to reward the recipient for his or her dedication during high school. "Teachers love to keep a connection. The club allows many retired educators such as myself to stay connected to the school and continue to support what you've worked for your whole life," Mindish said.

MWC membership is open to women who reside in the Millersville area. The club recently named its officers for this year: president Louise Brown, first vice president Jackie Shaw, second vice president Karen Choppa, treasurer Linda Davis, recording secretary Beverly Zbiek-Beam and corresponding secretary Nancy Dornsife. The primary goal of the club is to provide scholarships and awards to Penn Manor students, and it also helps to fund community programs. For more information, call 717-584-6029.