By Ralph K. Spencer, D'Evelyn Education Foundation Board of Directors
 
The above title is one of many classic quotes attributed to Satchel Paige, one of the most famous and durable baseball pitchers ever to play the game.  This article is for D'Evelyn parents who would like their senior student(s) to earn a college scholarship. Seniors don't need to read it for two reasons: 1) They would have NO idea who Satchel Paige was and; 2) I provided all the information in this article to the seniors during a 7th hour senior meeting in the D'Evelyn auditorium in January of this year!
 
Don't look back, parents, because April 4, 2018, is gaining on you AND your senior student.  At 3:00 PM on this date, all scholarship applications must have been turned in to Ms. Sue Brown in the Counseling Office.
 
The following information was provided to your senior students in January:

• 22 scholarships and one award are available to D'Evelyn Seniors - $21,000 total
• The $1,500 LeAnne Hollemans Roscow award recipient is nominated by a teacher panel
• Of the 22 scholarships - 13 ($10,850) are academic related, 6 ($5,650) are performing arts related, 2 ($2,000) are athletic related, and our brand new $1,000 scholarship is for a student who has demonstrated excellence amidst diversity
• The $600 physics scholarship may be awarded to two students, each receiving $300
• A $250 scholarship is available to a student who will be the first in his/her immediate family to attend college
• Apply for these scholarships by going through Naviance or by going to the D'Evelyn Education Foundation website and reviewing the Scholarships page: http://develyneducationfoundation.weebly.com/scholarships.html
• Allow enough time for your teachers to prepare any required recommendation letters
• April 4 is the first Wednesday of school following Spring Break
• Your chances of being awarded one of 22 scholarships range from 16% (assuming every senior applies - which will never happen); to 33% (assuming half of the senior class applies - highly unlikely); to a much higher percentage since history tells us that less than 30% of seniors apply for D'Evelyn Education Foundation scholarships
  
  

So there you have it, parents.  Time is slipping by, and gaining on both you and your students!  Spring Break will be the perfect time to apply for one or more of these 22 scholarships.  Finally, if the unimaginable happens and your student reads this article and insists on knowing more about Satchel Paige, please let him/her know that it was this immortal baseball pitcher who was quoted as saying, "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." They just might think Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was one awesome guy - and they would be absolutely correct! 

By Ralph K. Spencer, D'Evelyn Education Foundation Board of Directors

We can all thank Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, who is credited with saying that “Change is the only constant in life.”  Most of my readers will be shaking their head yes as they agree with this staple of our daily lives.  I thought I would use this well-known phrase to introduce yet another change coming to D'Evelyn that will impact many community members in the years ahead.  I have had the distinct pleasure of being involved in the coordination of the Jamin B. Wilson Excellence in Education Awards over the last 10 years. 
 
The E in E Awards, as they have become known, have positively impacted the lives of 21 recipients since the first two awards were given at the 2008 Senior Banquet.  Specifically, $41,000 has been awarded to D'Evelyn community members over the last ten years!  Every penny of this $41,000 has been raised through the generosity of D'Evelyn community members, friends, and family of Jamin B. Wilson, a 1999 D'Evelyn graduate who went on to Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (for ROTC classes).  Unfortunately, Jamin died tragically in an automobile accident in December 2006 while commuting to his Air Force job in Germany.  More than $90,000 has been raised over the last 11 years in Jamin’s name to award deserving D’Evelyn educators for their own “excellence in education.” 
 
In the beginning, both recipients of the E in E Award received a $1,500 no-strings-attached check, a framed certificate, and an impressive glass trophy.  In the fourth year, the dollar amount was raised to $2,000 for each of the two recipients.  Two years ago, the dollar amount was raised to $2,500 for each award recipient.  And the change continues.  During the 2018 Senior Banquet, to be held on May 16 at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel, one Excellence in Education award will be given to a single recipient.  In addition to the traditional framed certificate and glass trophy, the winner of this year's award will receive a check for $3,500! 
 
This change is being made in the hope that we can soon endow this award so it can continue to recognize deserving D'Evelyn community members for many years into the future without the need for future donations.  While students are not eligible for this award, there are many deserving D'Evelyn community members who are eligible and can be nominated by anyone familiar with the nominee's work.  Simply go to the D'Evelyn Scholarship web site http://develyneducationfoundation.weebly.com/scholarships.html.  Finally, just like the student scholarships, all Excellence in Education Award nominations are due to Ms. Brown in the Counseling Office no later than 3:00 p.m. on April 4.  And watch out!  More change is coming, except I don't know what it is!!!