By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
College debt forgiveness has been a hot topic in the United States for months. One Great Bend High School senior can skip that conversation. Kylee Mohr was one of a handful of recipients of the Rudd Scholarship that will pay for her entire four-year degree.
"One of the alumni for the Rudd Scholarship, who got it in 2020, came and talked to any student who was interested in knowing about the scholarship," Mohr said. "She gave us a rundown of what it was. She was telling us how it's not just about the money, it's about the family you get. I was really interested in that."
Mohr, who will major in business administration at Wichita State University, began the application process last October and worked for two months listing honors, awards, and extra-curricular activities, preparing two essays, and securing a letter of recommendation. In February, she was notified she was selected for the interview process. Then she was surprised with the big news.
"They came to my school, but they had actually called my counselor," Mohr said. "She had me come and told me I had to work on something with her but I actually didn't. They were giving it to me. I was so surprised. I literally had no words."
Rudd Scholars have a 100-percent, 4-year graduation rate for retained students, and one in five scholars graduate in less than four years. Seven in 10 recipients are first-generation college students. Scholars from sixty-four of the 105 Kansas counties have received a Rudd Scholarship.