Citlalli Cruz and Jacob Mamlock
For the 28th year, the Bill and Ardis Evans award was presented to Ottumwa sixth grade students. This year’s recipients are Citlalli Cruz and Jacob Mamlock. Cruz is the daughter of Javier Cruz and Maria Zavala. Mamlock is the son of Nadya Mamlock.
Since 1989, $336,000 in Evans Scholarships have been awarded to 56 students. These scholarships were established at Indian Hills Community College by Bill and Ardis Evans, who spent a combined 51 years of teaching. The couple believed that offering scholarships to sixth graders gives young people the incentive to improve or maintain their grades and be good citizens. The scholarship recipients are nominated and selected based on their academic achievement, character, attendance, and extracurricular activities.
One boy and one girl each year are nominated from each dyad in the sixth grade at Evans Middle School. The Indian Hills Community College Foundation Scholarship Committee then selects the winners. Under the scholarship guidelines, the recipients must complete their first two years of post-secondary education at Indian Hills before transferring to a four-year college or university.
Cruz and Mamlock were awarded $1,000 college scholarships at their end-of-the-year school assembly on May 31. They will earn an additional $1,000 each year through their senior year in high school, provided they meet specified criteria. Both students have the potential to accrue $7,000 towards their college education by the time they graduate from high school.