Central student awarded SEMO President's Scholarship

Cape Central senior Madison Phelps was awarded Southeast Missouri State University's President's Scholarship during a small ceremony Thursday, Feb. 8, at Cape Central High School, becoming the first student from the school to receive the scholarship since its inception in 2019.

The President's Scholarship is SEMO's most prestigious scholarship and is awarded each year to five students who "represent the top of all applicants to Southeast". The scholarship pays $10,000 per year -- $7,000 for tuition and $3,000 for residence hall fees -- and the value increases annually to up to $43,000 over four years for those who meet renewal requirements.

"It means a lot, especially since they said no one from Cape Central has ever received this scholarship," Phelps said. "That's a really big deal to me because I didn't think they wanted someone so local to get the scholarship, I thought they wanted other people from different areas. I feel really honored and excited about this."

To qualify for the scholarship, a student must have a minimum of a 3.9 grade point average or a 3.75 GPA with a 31 on the ACT or a 1390 on the SAT.

Phelps is currently fourth in her class out of 268 students and maintains a 4.2 GPA. In addition to her success in the classroom, Phelps participates in three varsity sports (volleyball, soccer and swimming), is the Student Senate's executive corresponding secretary, participated in the Scholar Bowl and is a member of the school's Beta Club and the National Honor Society.

Her mother said her daughter's hard work is paying off.

"When you're family, you see all sides of everybody. We see the struggle when everybody else sees the end result, when she has succeeded," Anna Phelps said. "We see what all she put into it to get to there. If anybody thinks that this came easy for her, any of this, it has not. We've been with her through travel volleyball, where she spent a whole weekend off in another state but she still had homework, and she had the struggles of missing school when she needed to be at school to excel to where she wanted to be. We've seen all this balancing act on the backside, and she's given a lot to be able to get here. We've seen it, and we're very happy for her. I mean, how many times do you tell somebody, 'Your hard work will pay off'? This time it did."

If a student meets the academic requirements, they then have to apply for the award, including writing an essay about themselves describing their college and career plans, getting two letters of recommendation and, if selected as a finalist, going through an interview process.

Phelps discovered she was named a finalist by checking her email while she was exercising.

"I was actually at the gym whenever I found out," Phelps said. "I was at the gym and I looked at my email, because I always look at the notifications, and I saw that. I was just reading it and I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' Then, I went straight ahead and applied for the interview so I could get a good time and get focused. I'm very much on top of everything, so I felt like I had to do it really quickly."

This year, approximately 430 students applied for the scholarship, and 125 were interviewed.

"Those we interviewed were all impressive students and leaders, making the selection process challenging," SEMO president Dr. Carlos Vargas said. "The five recipients chosen all have big dreams and have proven themselves capable of achieving them in their scholarly pursuits and extracurriculars. We know they will feel at home at SEMO while being challenged academically, and we look forward to how they'll contribute to our campus."

Phelps felt some initial anxiety when she sat down for her Zoom interview but quickly eased into the situation.

"Whenever we logged on, of course, at first I was really nervous," Phelps said. "But the people who interviewed me, these two ladies, were very welcoming. They were very nice, and they were smiling, and it was like a mirror image, we were smiling at each other. They were really supportive, which made me more comfortable during the whole experience and all of their questions."

For Phelps, receiving the scholarship felt a weight was lifted off of her shoulders.

"At first, whenever I walked in, it kind of felt like a dream. Like, 'Is this real?'" Phelps said. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting it because there's a lot of other people out there who applied and who have excellent resumes. Knowing that I got it is also really relieving. I'm less stressed about it now, but I also didn't think I would know this early because they told us it would be in March. It was just a shock, but it feels so nice knowing. It's comforting."

Phelps plans to major in biomedical science at SEMO for her undergraduate degree before attending dental or medical school.

"I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field because I'm good at science and math, I just didn't know what," Phelps said. "So I shadowed lots and lots of doctors, and I kind of found what I liked and what I didn't like about each thing. Then, I shadowed a dentist and I was like, 'Wow, this is a little bit of everything that I was looking for.'"

The President's Scholarship also ensures Phelps will stay local, something her family is very excited about.

"I think it takes a little bit of stress off the family to have this and having her stay local means a lot to us. It's a lot less worry for us," Anna Phelps said. "Any time you send your child off to college, I think there's anxiety. We have a son that's in the Navy, and he's in San Diego, so that is a stressor. Keeping her local sounds wonderful to us, having one at home that we have less worries about. It means a lot to us to have her here."

As a finalist for the President's Scholarship, another Cape Central senior, Nathan Meadors, will get some money to go toward his education as each finalist receives a $2,000 scholarship and a $1,500 study-abroad stipend.