Oakdale High School senior Evan Boggs was recently tapped as the winner of this year’s coveted Leo Volz scholarship. The Volz scholarship pays full tuition and books for a student for four years to the college of their choice.
“It’s really a good feeling,” Boggs said. “I was surprised and humbled by it. It feels really good to be rewarded for all my hard work throughout high school.”
The prestigious scholarship is awarded to an Oakdale High School senior who is considered a well-rounded student. The Volz scholarship requires students to have a minimum 3.8 GPA or a score of at least 1200 points on the SAT, participation and achievement in school and extra-curricular activities, contributions to the community, employment, and financial need.
Boggs was given an invitation of eligibility for the scholarship. He was in a field of 25 students to apply. They had to submit a two-page essay, which was an economy-related question, and then three finalists went through an interview with a six-person panel of community members.
Boggs will attend University of Pennsylvania and major in Economics. He was accepted to the school in December.
“Obviously it’s a huge burden off my family, especially for a private school like Penn,” he said, adding that it would’ve been a sacrifice for his family and that they would’ve had to change their lifestyle. Now, he said, he won’t feel guilty about that.
Boggs is a member of the school’s Academic Decathlon team and has been involved in Aca Deca for four years. He is a member of the California Association of Student Councils, which is a student-run state leadership board where he served in a fundraising capacity. He is also the student representative and voting member to the Oakdale Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees. He is a member of the OHS track and cross country teams, plays drums in the jazz band, and is an active member of “S” (Service) Club, Club Med (junior hospital volunteers), and Link Crew.
“Evan is a true all-around student. He’s been active in sports, band, leadership, student (school) board member…” said OJUSD Superintendent Fred Rich. “While doing all of this, he’s maintained a grade point average of well over 4.0. In addition to taking on all these responsibilities, he’s been able to donate time to Oak Valley Care Center and attend leadership conferences at UCLA. Leadership is a passion of Evan’s. He has a great skill in bringing people together and has all the qualities we look for in a Volz Scholarship winner.”
Boggs noted that what helped him be successful in high school was that he went above and beyond just doing his school work, he also did volunteering and numerous activities. He said that he felt his school career was well-rounded and complete.
As far as what college will be like, he’s not sure what to expect but anticipates that it will be a test of his abilities.
“I expect to be challenged. Going to an Ivy League university can be intimidating, I don’t know what the other kids will be like,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to being in a major urban center like Philadelphia and just enjoy the four years.”
Boggs is the second in his family to win this prestigious scholarship. His older brother Hans previously won the Volz award. He is the son of Keith and Debra Boggs and also has a younger sister, Emma. He added that he’d like to give a “shout out” to his grandparents Hans and Agnes Boggs, who have been big supporters.
Leo Volz was an Oakdale area farmer who lived in the area for a short time. In his will, he asked the OJUSD to set up a scholarship and he endowed it with $2 million. The ability to award the Leo Volz scholarship is based on the interest earned on the endowment account and also based on how many previous winners are still currently in college and using the funds, that determines how much or how many scholarships can be awarded.
As stated in Volz’ will, the purpose of the endowment is to provide scholarships to Oakdale High School graduates who represent the most outstanding all-around students graduating from the high school each year. Volz also had a passion for the arts and asked that it be considered as part of the criteria.
“It’s really a good feeling,” Boggs said. “I was surprised and humbled by it. It feels really good to be rewarded for all my hard work throughout high school.”
The prestigious scholarship is awarded to an Oakdale High School senior who is considered a well-rounded student. The Volz scholarship requires students to have a minimum 3.8 GPA or a score of at least 1200 points on the SAT, participation and achievement in school and extra-curricular activities, contributions to the community, employment, and financial need.
Boggs was given an invitation of eligibility for the scholarship. He was in a field of 25 students to apply. They had to submit a two-page essay, which was an economy-related question, and then three finalists went through an interview with a six-person panel of community members.
Boggs will attend University of Pennsylvania and major in Economics. He was accepted to the school in December.
“Obviously it’s a huge burden off my family, especially for a private school like Penn,” he said, adding that it would’ve been a sacrifice for his family and that they would’ve had to change their lifestyle. Now, he said, he won’t feel guilty about that.
Boggs is a member of the school’s Academic Decathlon team and has been involved in Aca Deca for four years. He is a member of the California Association of Student Councils, which is a student-run state leadership board where he served in a fundraising capacity. He is also the student representative and voting member to the Oakdale Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees. He is a member of the OHS track and cross country teams, plays drums in the jazz band, and is an active member of “S” (Service) Club, Club Med (junior hospital volunteers), and Link Crew.
“Evan is a true all-around student. He’s been active in sports, band, leadership, student (school) board member…” said OJUSD Superintendent Fred Rich. “While doing all of this, he’s maintained a grade point average of well over 4.0. In addition to taking on all these responsibilities, he’s been able to donate time to Oak Valley Care Center and attend leadership conferences at UCLA. Leadership is a passion of Evan’s. He has a great skill in bringing people together and has all the qualities we look for in a Volz Scholarship winner.”
Boggs noted that what helped him be successful in high school was that he went above and beyond just doing his school work, he also did volunteering and numerous activities. He said that he felt his school career was well-rounded and complete.
As far as what college will be like, he’s not sure what to expect but anticipates that it will be a test of his abilities.
“I expect to be challenged. Going to an Ivy League university can be intimidating, I don’t know what the other kids will be like,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to being in a major urban center like Philadelphia and just enjoy the four years.”
Boggs is the second in his family to win this prestigious scholarship. His older brother Hans previously won the Volz award. He is the son of Keith and Debra Boggs and also has a younger sister, Emma. He added that he’d like to give a “shout out” to his grandparents Hans and Agnes Boggs, who have been big supporters.
Leo Volz was an Oakdale area farmer who lived in the area for a short time. In his will, he asked the OJUSD to set up a scholarship and he endowed it with $2 million. The ability to award the Leo Volz scholarship is based on the interest earned on the endowment account and also based on how many previous winners are still currently in college and using the funds, that determines how much or how many scholarships can be awarded.
As stated in Volz’ will, the purpose of the endowment is to provide scholarships to Oakdale High School graduates who represent the most outstanding all-around students graduating from the high school each year. Volz also had a passion for the arts and asked that it be considered as part of the criteria.
