Key Points
Key Points:
-- 547 students competed for the 2024 Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships at Wichita State University.
-- Karinton Newton of Lee’s Summit was one of three winners.
-- She has a list of impressive achievements in high school.
The competition started with 547 of the best and brightest of the Class of 2024 competing in the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational at Wichita State University.
It ended on Thursday, Feb. 1, with the announcement of Karinton Newton, a student a Summit Christian Academy in Lee’s Summit, MO, as one of three recipients of the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships.
Each student will receive a $64,000 scholarship to attend Wichita State University starting in August 2024.
To be invited to compete in the invitational, students had to have a 27 or higher ACT score, a 3.5 or higher GPA, or rank in the top 10% of their class. Once invited, students completed an application, including essays, and competed in an on-campus leadership competition. Thirteen finalists came back to campus Jan. 18 for final interviews.
Karinton Newton
Newton’s high school record includes three varsity letters in track and field as a star hurdler, and four years of service on the student council with executive positions as historian in her junior year and president in her senior year.
Karinton has been a student ambassador at Summit Christian Academy all four years and was appointed by school administration as a small group leader. Outside of school, she has been a volunteer on a building crew, helping to renovate homes for the poor in Kansas City.
Karinton plans to study criminal justice on a pre-law track.
“Karinton is a young lady with amazing passion and drive,” said Joe Hesman, secondary principal at Summit Christian Academy. “Karinton has the drive and desire to make a positive impact wherever she is. This desire and drive are something innate to her and will be a part of her when she arrives on campus at Wichita State.”
Karinton said she is “beyond grateful” for the scholarship award. She gave thanks to God, her family and friends, her teachers and faculty and said she is looking forward to studying criminal justice and pursuing a career in law.
The Other Winners
The two other winners are Karaline Scott from Goddard High School and Chloe Strecker, from Eureka High School in Eureka, Mo.
At Goddard High School, Scott has been the head drum major for the Lion Pride Marching Band for three years and is currently varsity cheer captain. She plans on majoring in applied engineering – sustainability and environmental.
Strecker, a four-year member of her school field hockey team, plans to major in forensic science.
