The Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus in Salina has selected three high school seniors from Kansas and Missouri as the recipients of the 2019 Vanier Bluemont Scholarship. Recognized as one of the campus’s most prestigious and largest valued scholarships, it honors students for their high academic achievement with an award of $40,000 over four years.

Adam Parker, Kansas City, Charles Rusco, Topeka, and Joshua Gabriel, Kansas City, Missouri, have been selected for the Vanier Bluemont Scholarship, meeting the requirement of a minimum ACT score of 32 or a 3.8 GPA. Gabriel and Rusco will enter the professional pilot program in fall 2019 while Parker will study electronic and computer engineering technology.

Parker, a student at Washington High School, has always been mechanically inclined and dreams about a job in the tech industry. He says he is most excited about learning innovative processes and meeting new people when he enters college next fall and this scholarship will give him the support he needs to succeed.

Rusco, who comes from a family of Kansas State University graduates, has wanted to be a pilot since taking his first commercial flight at age 9 and looks forward to traveling the world with his career. He says the Vanier Bluemont Scholarship demonstrates that his dedication at Washburn Rural High School has been worth it and believes it will motivate him to keep working hard in college.

A student at Park Hill High School, Gabriel has had a lifelong interest in aviation and decided to land at Kansas State Polytechnic because of recommendations he received from friends about the degree program. He says he is excited this scholarship will help him complete his pilot certificates and pursue his dream of flying.

So far, almost $2.4 million have been awarded to Wildcats at Kansas State Polytechnic this year and additional scholarships will be distributed to incoming students by the end of March.