Dundee Township scholarships help students offset college tuition

The Dundee Township Visitor’s Center, in conjunction with the Dundee Township Rotary Foundation, awarded a $1,500 scholarship to Dundee-Crown High School student Sarah Bowen, of Sleepy Hollow.

Bowen will be attending Saint Louis University in the fall as a pre-med student.

“It really means a lot to me because it shows how all my hard work and studying really paid off,” Bowen said after receiving the award at the Dundee Township Rotary’s recent annual awards banquet.

“I really appreciate it,” she said, “it helps offset the cost of a private Catholic school.”

At the event, 19 scholarships totaling $30,000 were awarded to college-bound students from Dundee Township.

Bowen is an Illinois State Scholar, a Dundee-Crown Scholar and an executive board member of the National Honor Society. She is 11th in her class out of 534 and editor-in-chief of her school newspaper. She is a member of the varsity dance team and has been a TeamDance Illinois state qualifier for the past two years. Last year, she won the Voice of Democracy Essay Contest for an essay about her grandfather, a World War II veteran. She also received the Prairie State Achievement Award in math and science.

“It is our hope that Sarah will not only be able to use this money to further her education, but then someday she’ll be able to give something back to her home community in the form of expertise or leadership,” said Stephen K. Pickett, the visitor’s center board president.

Pickett said funds for the annual scholarship come from booth fees from the Dundee Township Farmer’s Market, which is held every Saturday, May through October.

“We don’t receive any other funding, other than use of the building and grounds, which the village of East Dundee owns and generously lets us use,” he said. The Dundee Township Visitor’s Center, a nonprofit organization, started the scholarship in 2007.

“We awarded our first scholarship in 2008, and it’s our hope to be able to continue and even expand the effort in the future,” said board secretary Paula Lauer. “The farmers market has been a great asset, not only because people enjoy it so much, but as it has grown, it has enabled us to give back to the community and participate in things like this scholarship program.”

The visitor’s center has funded upgrades and improvements to the depot building itself and donated funds to other community organizations including the Dundee Township Open Space, the Save the Silo fund at Raceway Woods in Carpentersville and the Dundee Township Historical Society.

For more information, visit the website at dundeedepot.com or find them on Facebook under “Dundee Depot & Farmer’s Market.”