Three students who are finishing their junior year in high school attended the Oil City Rotary Club meeting on Thursday as they were selected to receive 2023 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.
The students — Mercedes Kalamajka, of Venango Catholic High School; James O’Dell, of Oil City High School; and Alexandra Rodgers, of Christian Life Academy — will attend a week of programming at Westminster College from June 11-16.
The leadership award, according to a brochure, “targets students who have completed their junior year in high school and have been identified as leaders in their high schools and/or communities.”
Selected students then receive a full scholarship to attend the leadership program at Westminster.
Oil City Rotary Club member Jeannine Guth said she sends information about the youth leadership award to schools, then guidance counselors approach students who fit the description.
Guth and a few other Rotary club members then interview the students.
There were six applicants this year, and there will be about 100 students from western Pennsylvania attending the Westminster program.
