By Markeith Childress
The Scene staff
Forest Park students, faculty and staff came to life at the12th annual Bowling for Scholars fundraiser at Tropicana Lanes this month.
“It’s the most fun you can imagine,” said Christy Hart, bookstore manager and event coordinator.
Bowlers were raising money for St. Louis Community College scholarships.
“This will be my fourth year with this event,” said automotive technology major Jonathan Edwards, 22. “It’s a great experience to help students and have some fun while donating to a good cause.”
Bowlers came from all the college’s campuses.
“I am just blessed to be a part of a benefit event that helps students with scholarships,” said Meramec TRIO adviser Stephen Anderson, 34.
Bowling for Scholars has raised more than $200,000 for scholarships in the past 12 years. As of press time, Hart estimated that this year’s event raised $40,000.
Hart gives much of the credit to student participation. About 250 show up every year from all majors.
The event is an opportunity for people not only to bowl but to socialize.
“There is a lot of friendly rivalry among departments and campuses and companies,” Hart said.
Each bowler receives a T-shirt, which helps give them a sense of community, as well as a souvenir.
“It is really good to see all the campuses come together and work as one unit towards our goal, which is to raise as much money as we can for the scholarship fund,” Hart said.
For the first year, Bowling for Scholars awarded trophies for the highest-scoring individual and team.
Spencer Mason from the engineering company David Mason and Associates was individual winner, and the Florissant Valley team The Vectors was the team winner.
Hart said the hardest part is cleaning up after the event, but that it’s worth the trouble.
“Every year, we leave the lanes feeling exhausted and fantastic, and people tell us that they had so much fun,” she said.