Douglas senior wins Rising Star of the West Scholarship Contest

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Douglas High School senior Amanda Rothe is the winner of the 17th annual Rising Star of the West scholarship contest sponsored by KEVN Black Hills FOX and Monument Health. The four finalists in this year’s contest each delivered four on-air commentaries which were rated by both on-line viewers and a Black Hills FOX panel. Rothe was picked as this year’s best by a combination of those groups. She receives a $4,000 college scholarship.

Stevens High School senior Sydney Meissner finished second in this year’s contest and wins a $2,000 scholarship.

Rapid City Christian High School senior Faith Stoddard took third place and a $1,000 scholarship.

Stevens High School junior Serenity Johnson finished fourth and is the winner of a $500 scholarship.

KEVN Black Hills FOX TV general manager Chris Gross says, “The outstanding students from here in the Black Hills never fail to impress me with their talents and we are pleased to be able to help them with their future education.”

“One of Monument Health’s priorities is to be here for generations to come. We believe that investing in our future generations simultaneously improves our future workforce while also supporting our communities,” said Trina Allen, Vice President of Human Resources for Monument Health. “Sponsoring these valuable scholarships is a great way for us to support our children and invest in the future.”

Rothe joins Ireland Larsen and Melissa Rothe from Douglas, Janesa Bakeberg, Annelise Ewing and Kaitlyn Hemmingson of Spearfish High School, Shad Christman of Lemmon High School, St. Thomas More’s Caila Brennan and Audrey Cope, Lead-Deadwood’s Jordon Barthel, homeschool students Rae McKee of Nemo and Emma Smith of Rapid City, Gavin Brucklacher of Philip, Noah Storm and Jessica Benson from Stevens High School, Katherine Kvale from Bison and Sierra Hilgenkamp from Wall as winners of the Rising Star of the West scholarship contest.