Student Athlete Scholars is proud to announce the featured recipients of the 2023 Student Athlete Scholars Scholarships!
Several states are represented among our winners. Students ranging from 10th – 12th grade were selected.
Graduating Scholar of the Year | Grand Prize Winner
Michael (Mickey) Anthony Sakalas
Flour Bluff High School (2021 – 2023) & Romeoville High School (2019 – 2021)
Corpus Christi, Texas & Romeoville, Illinois
I was accepted to both campuses of Saint Louis University. I’ve decided to attend the Madrid, Spain Campus where I’ll work toward obtaining a business degree and a professional, European Football Contract.
Graduating Scholar of the Year | Runner Up
Josiah D. Simmons
Veterans High School
Kathleen, Georgia
I plan to attend Shorter University and major in Computer Information Systems. I will play collegiate level soccer. I hope our team is able to achieve great success. Upon graduation, I aspire to pursue a career in Cybersecurity in the business sector. And, if the opportunity presents itself, I would love to further my soccer career beyond college. I hope to continue to give back to others in my community. I want to remain involved in the training and development of younger soccer players.
Graduating Scholar of the Year | Runner Up
Claire Van Horn
Foothill High School
Pleasanton, California
I will be attending Westmont College in Santa Barbara to study Psychology. My hopes are to pursue a career in this field. I am extremely grateful to be receiving this scholarship to further my education.
Graduating Scholar of the Year | Runner Up
Joshua Larry Hallanger
Pekin Community High School (2022 – 2023) & Moody High School (2019 – 2022)
Pekin, Illinois & Moody, Alabama
I will be attending Illinois College for 4 years as a student-athlete. I will be playing esports and maybe after my first year if I have time I will also be playing soccer. I will be majoring in Accounting and/or Finance and hope to get a minor in Business. After I complete my 4 years I will be getting a part time job for a business while I complete grad school to get my masters degree and maybe even my PhD.
This scholarship will help me be able to complete my dreams of going to college, getting a well paid job, so that in the future I am able to provide for my family.
Academic Excellence Award | Winner
Amaris Marks
Humble High School
Humble, Texas
My future academic/career aspirations after graduating high school are to attend a university that has a successful architecture academic program. If I’m fortunate enough I would love to also play volleyball at the collegiate level. My ultimate goal is to have my own architecture firm in the future.
I’m forever grateful to be named as a recipient of the Student Athlete Scholars Scholarship Award. This award will allow me to meet my goal to purchase my own laptop and master becoming proficient within my Revit architect program.
Academic Excellence Award | Winner
Adrian Reyes
Bloomfield High School
Bloomfield, New Jersey
My plan after graduating from high school is to go to college and major in Engineering. My dream college that I would like to attend is Princeton and though I understand it is difficult to get in and an even more difficult college to be in, I am determined to try my best and not only prepare myself for it academically, but also financially by applying to various scholarships. I am not sure what field of engineering I will be majoring in, but regardless of the field, my career goal is to work on a meaningful job that will make a positive impact, will pay well, and be a job I am happy to be in.
Academic Excellence Award | Winner
Camden Schaneville
St. Petersburg Catholic High School
St. Petersburg, Florida
Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me because the hard work I have put in during my high school years is being recognized in an incredible and rewarding way. I am not certain about what specifically I want to pursue after graduating, I am interested in areas of business and computer science.
Academic Excellence Award | Winner
Miracle Geneva-Marie Gillespie
Springbrook High School
Silver Spring, Maryland
My future plans are to study Forensic Science at Penn State University and become a forensic scientist for the FBI.
Academic Excellence Award | Winner
Yuto Oketani
Sante Fe Preparatory School
Sante Fe, New Mexico
After graduating from high school, I hope to play D1 Soccer in college. I plan to major in business or finance. This scholarship is important to me because it will help me purchase a new computer so I can do my schoolwork in senior year – my old one is almost dead. Thank you so much!
Community Champion Award | Winner
Madeline Rose Le Francois
Mammoth High School
Mammoth Lakes, California
Although I am just 17, I do feel I have a passion for criminal justice. My absolute dream goal would be to work for the FBI or CIA as a forensics scientist or a criminal investigator. I might minor in psychology because I find figuring out the criminal mind fascinating. I was fortunate enough to be able to pursue junior college classes while I was in high school. I am earning 3 Associate degrees at our local Community College: Administrative Justice, Arts and Humanities, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Community Champion Award | Winner
Jasmine Thomas
Mayde Creek High School
Houston, Texas
My plan after high school graduation is to attend the college of my choice, major in Psychology, and to represent the school on their volleyball team. I wish to ultimately work as an adolescent psychologist so that I can help others to work through their situations and how to manage life challenges. This scholarship will assist me in pursuing those dreams.
Community Champion Award | Winner
Cruz Arnold
Middle College High School
Memphis, Tennessee
As of right now, my career field is leaning more to the business management side rather than the engineering side therefore, my future would be in the business field as of right now.
Community Champion Award | Winner
Makenna Hurst
Lexington Christian Academy
Lexington, Kentucky
I plan to major in kinesiology and minor in business to become a Pediatric Physical Therapist and hopefully one day open up my own children’s clinic.
