May 18, 2023 – Hickory Point Bank held its 4th Annual Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholar Awards ceremony, celebrating the outstanding achievements of Decatur area high school seniors.
The Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholars program recognizes the top four students from each of the seven area high schools where the bank has a presence: Eisenhower, MacArthur, St. Teresa, LSA, Decatur Christian, Maroa-Forsyth, and Mt. Zion.
The Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholar of the Year received a $5,000 scholarship. Three runners-up received $2,500, $1500, and $1,000 respectively, from Hickory Point Bank.
The Selection Process was comprised of each high school principal or guidance counselor submitting names of its top four students from its high school’s graduating class of 2023 using an objective rating system that combines class rank and ACT/SAT score. In addition, candidates from each school submitted a 500-word essay on the topic: “Explain something that made a big impact on your life”.
Choosing the 2022 Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholar was conducted by The bank’s selection committee, which reviewed all candidate submissions and selected the Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholar of the Year and three runners-up based on a rubric tabulation and their essay.
The third runner-up was Mason McNeill of Mt. Zion High School. Mason is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dan and Anna McNeill, Mason has a class rank of 2 of 165, a GPA of 4.72/4.0 scale, and plans to attend the University of Chicago to pursue degrees in both economics and data science.
The Second runner-up was Hope Roundcount of Mt. Zion High School. Hope is the daughter of Mr. Travis and Rhonda Roundcount, Hope has a class rank of 1 of 165, a GPA of 4.78/4.0 scale, and plans to pursue degrees in both computer science and astrophysics.
The first Runner up was Owen Raleigh of MacArthur High School. Owen is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ryan and Jennifer Raleigh, Owen has a class rank of 1 of 194, a GPA of 4.878/4.0 scale, and plans to attend University of Illinois to pursue an aerospace engineering degree.
And the 2023 Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholar of the Year went to Abionna Tertocha of Maroa-Forsyth High School. Abionna is the daughter of Mr. Tony Tertocha and Ms. Tammi Tertocha, Abionna has a class rank of 1 of 72, a GPA of 5.182/5.0 scale and plans to attend the University of Notre Dame to study biological science to pursue a career as an anesthesiologist.
To see all of the Hickory Point Bank Merit Scholar candidates, click HPB.Merit Scholars.Award Event program 5.22printerspreads.
Check out the photo gallery of the awards ceremony below.
