Each and every year, MetroNews awards a four-year scholarship that includes tuition, fees, room, and board for undergraduate study at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon to a West Virginia high school junior. On Wednesday, June 15, MetroNews announced via radio station WCHS that Brayton Boggs of Winfield High School is this year’s winner. Boggs will enroll at Wesleyan in the fall 2023 semester. His scholarship is for four consecutive years and will terminate at the end of the fourth consecutive school year. The total estimated value of Boggs’ scholarship is $160,000.
MetroNews promises applicants that they will have the chance to win their dream. To win that dream, applicants must submit transcripts and test scores and are subjected to a screening process which includes answering essay questions and being interviewed. One of the essay questions Boggs had to answer was what he would like to contribute to the state of West Virginia. Boggs told MetroNews that he forwent this year’s prom to answer this question. The application period began February 15th and ended April 30th.
Boggs stated that he plans to contribute through political involvement or by pursuing law career following college.
West Virginia Wesleyan Interim President James Moore said, “We have students here who want to go to law school and become doctors. They want to change the world.
“We’ve got health care challenges in this state. We’ve got a teacher shortage we have to solve. We’ve got access to higher education issues all around the region and Wesleyan needs to be apart of those solutions. We can lead the way in so many ways,” he said.
John Waltz, vice president for enrollment management at Wesleyan, said most students who applied expressed interest in moving West Virginia forward. Waltz said the scholarship isn’t solely based on academics. “Really, we’re looking for the well-roundedness,” Waltz said. “These are all great students, of course, but we’re also looking for community service, religious and spiritual life, athletics, creative arts, anything these students are involved with.”
The sponsors for the West Virginia Scholar Program include title sponsor Greer Industries along with West Virginia International Yeager Airport, the West Virginia Hospital Association, ZMM Architects & Engineers, Friends of Coal and the West Virginia Farm Bureau.
John Raese, president and CEO of Greer Industries, said it’s an important time to help the next generation succeed.
“I think the youth of our country needs to take over, needs to make a bigger stand. It’s their future. It’s what we’ve given them. When you look at what’s going on in the world and certainly the economic situation of our country today, we’re rooting for these guys. This is the future,” Raese said.
