DATE: Friday, October 24, 1997              TAG: 9710240640

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   74 lines

PROGRAM GIVES STRUGGLING STUDENTS A BOOST

It's a given that honor students compete for scholarships during their senior year of high school.

But not too many scholarships dangle over the heads of students in the lower ranks of a graduating class.

Churchland High School, however, is the exception.

New this year at Churchland is a scholarship program that targets students in the bottom 25 percent of the senior class. Called Strive, the program is a project of the Rotary Club of Churchland.

``If we can get successful businessmen to support this, I just see good things happening from it,'' principal Raymond Hale said. ``I don't know how many kids will be positively affected by it, but I do believe we can help some of the kids change their attitudes about school.''

To be eligible for the scholarships, students were asked to sign a contract pledging to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average and at least 90 percent attendance.

Of the 50 or so students eligible to participate, 19 signed the commitment forms.

``I failed three classes in my freshman year, and I feel like this is my last year to give it my best shot,'' said Kelli Torbert, 17.

The top prize is a full one-year scholarship, worth about $1,800, to Tidewater Community College.

The award will be given to the senior whose grade-point average improves the most during the school year.

``I'd like to take that top prize,'' said Patrick King, 17, who aspires to be a graphic artist. ``My GPA isn't all that high, so I figure this will give me a better chance to get to college.''

Two partial scholarships, worth $500 each, will be awarded to the second- and third-place finishers. The next four ``most-improved'' students will receive an extra $2 an hour - up to 20 hours a week - in their summer jobs.

``This gives them a little extra inducement to work hard and get money for going on to school or into any career that they choose,'' Rotary Club member Ector Hamrick said.

Another requirement for those enrolled in the program is that they attend at least six of seven monthly meetings with members of the Rotary Club who will serve as mentors.

Hamrick spoke at the students' first meeting, telling them how he, too, was an underachiever in high school and college, where he struggled to maintain a C-plus average.

But later in life, Hamrick decided to enroll in a doctoral studies program, where he excelled.

Hamrick is now pastor of Park View Baptist Church in Portsmouth.

After Hamrick's talk, Kelli said she definitely could relate to what he was saying.

``His talk got me thinking that this is going to work for me,'' said Kelli, who wants to pursue a career in the medical field.

``It's been hard because my mom and dad split up, and it's just me and my dad now,'' she said. ``This year, I just needed something to keep me going, and it's programs like this that make a difference.''

Enrolling in Strive has prompted Patrick to change his study habits, he said.

``I'm taking school a little more seriously now,'' Patrick said. ``I know I can graduate with a D average, but I don't want that because I want to get into college.''

The Strive program was founded about 10 years ago in White Bear Lake, Minn., by Don Mooney, a Rotarian who worked with students in Junior Achievement.

``We just saw the unfairness of no one paying attention to the kids in the lower third of the class,'' Mooney said via telephone from Minnesota.

As word of the program spread, it was adopted by Rotary Clubs throughout Minnesota and beyond.

Today, there are about 1,500 Strive programs nationwide. ILLUSTRATION: MARK MITCHELL

The Virginian-Pilot

Ector Hamrick and Pat Meinen...

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