Nebraska senior receives Volney Meece Scholarship
DALLAS (FWAA)- Kate Shatel, a senior at Elkhorn South High School in Omaha, Nebraska, was named on Thursday as the 26th winner of the Volney Meece Scholarship.
The scholarship is awarded annually by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named for the late Volney Meece, who served 22 years as the FWAA’s Executive Director and was President in 1971.
The scholarship comes with a four-year annual grant of $1,000. It is awarded to the child of an FWAA member who is ready to begin college or is already in college.
Kate, 17, is the daughter of former FWAA President Tom Shatel, a columnist at the Omaha World-Herald. Kate is the second member of her family to win the scholarship. Her older sister, Sarah Shatel, was the 2020 recipient. Sarah, a junior at the University of Missouri, majors in math and is eyeing law school after early graduation late this year.
Excellence in the classroom, a dedication to serving her community and others around here and athletic competition highlight Kate’s life. She is a straight-A student with a weighted GPA of 4.15. She earned AP credits in English, world history, U.S. history and statistics, and she is working on additional AP credits in Spanish, physics and calculus.
A member of the National Honor Society, she tutors other students in multiple subjects. She is also co-editor of her high school magazine and lettered as a member of the basketball team.
At Elkhorn South, Kate is on track for a fourth academic letter, and school officials picked her to be one of two students to teach fellow Elkhorn South students and students from Mexico and other countries because of her prowess speaking Spanish.
She is a consistent volunteer at her church, mentoring younger students, helping with vacation bible school and attending mission trips.
A leader among her peers and respected by teachers and administrators, Kate is also co-president of school chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions and a member of the school’s Future Business Leaders of America and of its Ambassador’s Club, where students play games alongside special needs students.
In the fall, Kate will enroll at the University of Kansas, where she plans to major in accounting with a possible dual major in business analytics. She’s also considering a minor, although that area is undecided.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
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