Selecting Scholars
March 15th of each year marks the end of scholarship application season for the Sachs Foundation. After they close, we begin the process of putting together a diverse selection committee including top educational leaders in Colorado. This year’s committee consisted of individuals from the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University, University of Denver, Colorado College, Colorado Mesa University, and The Denver Scholarship Foundation along with a few of our alumni and partners. It was an incredibly knowledgeable and diverse review committee with more than 50% of our reviewers identifying as people of color.
Committee members are invited to Colorado Springs in April for two days of application reading and deliberations. For each applicant, they consider academic performance, financial need and personal character just as the Sachs Foundation has done for the 91 classes of scholars who have come before them.
The first day of application reading is an exciting one. Our review committee members are passionate about educational equity and furthering exceptional Black students’ educational career. Once everyone arrives early on the first day or reading, we dive into what to look for in applications. Beyond common categories like grades, class difficulty, and extracurricular activities, we also look at the individual student situations. Our applicants prove how resilient they are with stories of how they stood up to bullying, made their schools more inclusive, moved from war-stricken areas, and challenged everything they knew to succeed. Our reviewers enjoy getting to know the individuals different, so the personal essays scholars fill out are vital. Two essays, one allowing students to describe their personal experiences and one asking about student led DEI discussions at school, were featured this year and eloquently answered by so many. Narrowing down the scholarships to finalists requires looking at GPA, classes, jobs worked, hours volunteered, essays, and letters of recommendation.
Day two of the review process is for committee deliberations. Our volunteer experts divide into groups to discuss each candidate they have read about. With such an incredibly talented applicant pool, these deliberations can be quite lively and energetic. Committee members spend the day coming to a consensus on the candidates they will recommend to the Sachs Foundation Board of Directors as members of the Sachs Scholars Class of 2023. Day two is also the day when finalists are chosen for our named scholarships. These scholarships were created to honor significant figures in the history of the Sachs Foundation as well as significant funding partners. The 2023 Sachs Foundation named scholarships are:
The Effie Stroud Scholarship – awarded to the overall top applicant each year
The Gertrude Lee Scholarship – awarded to the student that best exemplifies selflessness and service to their community
The Dolphus Stroud Scholarship – awarded to the scholar that showcases the spirit of academics, athletics and, most importantly, perseverance.
The Morris A. Esmiol Scholarship – awarded to the student who has the most outstanding personal statement
The Morris A Esmiol Jr. Scholarship – awarded to the applicant who has pursued STEM as a passion and want to continue studying STEM related topics in college
These named scholarships include a larger grant amount in recognition of these students’ accomplishments.
Once all these important decisions are made, all recommendations are provided to the Sachs Foundation staff and then to the Board of Directors. Selected scholars are notified of their awards by the end of June and will be invited to our scholar retreat in June to welcome and celebrate our Sachs Scholar Class of 2023!
2023 was the most competitive pool of applicants we have ever had at the Sachs Foundation and we are grateful to all of the incredible young people who applied. We are so excited to meet this year’s scholars soon!