A Lighthouse Preparatory Academy student got some rewarding news last week.
The president of St. Louis' Fontbonne University surprised senior Ariona Batiste with a full-tuition scholarship March 23.
"It was pretty shocking because I wasn't expecting it," Batiste said. She said she had thought she would be notified of her scholarship status earlier and without any news had resigned herself to believing she hadn't gotten it. "It was a good surprise," she added of getting the news in person at school.
She has applied to four colleges, but she said she knew Fontbonne was her dream school after her visit there - being on campus, it just felt right, although the cost would have made it difficult for her to attend there over her backup schools.
The Presidential Scholarship she received "is awarded yearly to up to five exemplary high school seniors that have excelled academically. Consideration for these scholarships is based on cumulative grade point averages, ACT or SAT scores and a competitive honors interview," a news release from Lighthouse Prep said.
Batiste's scholarship is worth $38,000 a year and $152,000 over the course of four years, according to the news release.
Batiste said she plans to major in the medical field of dietetics and hopes to work in a clinical setting for her career.
Fontbonne's website explains students in the Didactic Program learn to become registered dietitian nutritionists or entry-level registered dietitian nutritionists. "Graduates use their knowledge and skills in food and nutrition to enrich the quality of life of individuals, families and communities," according to the website.
Batiste said no one else in her family has gone to Fontbonne.
She's not the only Lighthouse Prep student in the class of 2018 to have received a competitive offer from a college.
"Lighthouse is so pleased with Ariona and all of our seniors. At this point, 40 percent of our senior class has received full-ride scholarships to their university of choice," School Board President Mary Alexander said in the news release.
Lighthouse Prep's graduating class of 2018 is 15 students.
Colleges' surprising prospective students with scholarship announcements has become a trend lately.
Columbia College in February surprised two Fatima High School (Caleb Fischer and Macy Berhorst) and one Belle High School student (Crista Woolley) at their schools with three of 10 $90,000 Presidential Scholarships awarded this year.