Two high school seniors who have committed to attend Southwestern College in the fall of 2024 have been awarded Moundbuilder Spirit full-tuition scholarships.  They are Pio Hernandez, Wichita, and Alejandra Pippitt, Burden.

The Moundbuilder Spirit Scholarship recognizes two student leaders who are well-rounded, hardworking, and community-minded. The Moundbuilder Spirit Scholarship will provide full-tuition support to Hernandez and Pippitt. Both scholarships are renewable for four years and are valued at approximately $150,000.

Pio Hernandez is the son of Pio Cesar Hernandez and Martha Sanchez and attends Goddard High School.  He plans to major in digital media and is interested in joining the Band-Its pep band at Southwestern. 

Alejandra Pippitt is the daughter of Tammy and Stacy Pippitt and attends Winfield High School.  She plans to major in education and participate in the spirit squad dance team.

According to Stephannie DeLong, vice president for enrollment management, the college received a large number of applications for the Moundbuilder scholarship.

“With over 200 applications for the Moundbuilder Spirit full tuition scholarship competition and over 50 attendees, we are proud to welcome two outstanding new Builders to campus this fall,” DeLong says.   “Allie and Pio’s essays demonstrated their unique vision of leadership and how they will continue to grow as members of the Builder family.” 

Southwestern's competitive full-tuition scholarship program began in 2016. As the number of students applying for admission to Southwestern has grown, the number applying to compete for the full-tuition competition has also increased. Since the beginning, the full-tuition program has attracted a talented and diverse group of students to apply. Each year a large proportion of the students who compete for the full-tuition awards, but are not selected as the recipients, choose to come to Southwestern.