The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence is thrilled to announce Mary Curtis of Metro East Lutheran High School (Edwardsville, IL) as the recipient of the 2024 Morgan Costa-Rhodes Memorial Scholarship!
Metro East Lutheran High School’s scholastic bowl coach, Shanna Covarrubias, says of Mary, “[She] never ceases to impress me with her outstanding character and achievements[…] She was not only named to the All-State first team in Illinois, but she is a two-time State Champion this year in the size 1A schools in the IHSA State Series as well as the Masonic State Academic Bowl. She is one of the very best quiz bowl players our state has to offer!”
But Mary is not only a talented quizbowl player– she puts, in the words of Mrs. Covarrubias, her “servant’s heart” to use as an active participant in community service. She helps at her church’s Vacation Bible School, plays the pipe organ for services, and volunteers at every church event she can. She also participates in community service events as a member of the National Honor Society, helping organize donation drives for underprivileged children, peer tutoring, and a Red Cross blood drive, just to name a few.
Mary writes, “I’d like to thank my coach Mrs. Covarrubias, for being so amazing, and a great influence on me in so many ways. I’d also like to thank my family, especially my older brother, Silas, and my parents for getting me into Scholar Bowl and supporting me the whole way.”
Mary will begin her college career at Concordia University Chicago in the fall and plans to study political science. Please join us in congratulating her!