Divine Child Senior Awarded $5K Rotary Scholarship

Kevin Hart, a senior at Divine Child High School, was awarded the $5,000 Harry A. Sisson Memorial Scholarship during the Rotary Club of Dearborn annual Youth Month.

Criteria for winning the Sisson Scholarship include exemplifying the Rotary service ideals, along with high academic achievement, leadership among peers, and demonstration of the highest ethical standards. The award was presented to Hart by Ray Trudeau, Dearborn’s Rotarian of the Year.

The Dearborn Rotary Club, through the Dearborn Rotary Foundation, awards this annual $5,000 college scholarship, which is made possible through an endowment provided by the Harry A. Sisson Foundation. The Harry A. Sisson Memorial College Scholarship Award is presented in recognition of an Outstanding Senior attending a public or private high school in Dearborn. Sisson became a Rotarian in 1917 and patterned his life after the principles of Rotary’s motto “Service above Self.”

Scholarship candidates are nominated and endorsed by the student’s high school principal and academic advisor for specific community service and leadership accomplishments. The Dearborn Rotary Sisson Scholarship Committee reviewed 22 extensive applications and personally interviewed six finalists. All of the candidates demonstrated the highest of academic and leadership qualifications.

The scholarship has been awarded annually for the past 24 years.

In addition to maintaining high academic standards, Hart is president of Divine Child’s Student Council Executive Board and captain of the wrestling team. He helped to restructure Homecoming to remove the “date dance” stigma with a “Super Heroes” theme—making it easier for students to attend the dance by themselves or with a group of friends. He also helped to organize a fundraiser that collected more than $3,000 for the Wounded Warrior project. A Dearborn Animal Shelter volunteer, Hart is a member of the “Pit Crew” teaching shelter dogs, especially pit bulls—proper cage behavior to help them receive a loving home.

Hart shared that his career goal is to become an electrical engineer. He has already been accepted to attend Notre Dame and is awaiting response from MIT and Harvard.

“It is just not a gift of money, it is a gift of time," Hart said. "People can earn more money, but they can’t earn more time in their life, so the award is especially important."

This article was provided by the Rotary Club of Dearborn.