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Scholarships

paa! Kenneth L. Short Memorial Scholarship

The Opaa! Kenneth L Short Memorial Scholarship will annually award renewable $2,500 scholarships to employees of Opaa! Food Management, Inc., their children, and their grandchildren.

Applicants must:
• be an Opaa! Food Management Inc. employee, child of an employee, or grandchild or an employee who has been employed by Opaa! Food Service Inc. 
• be pursuing an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or certificate.
• plan to enroll full-time (children/grandchildren) or part-time (employees only) in an accredited, nonprofit, trade/technical school or two-year or four-year college or university in the United States.
• have unmet financial need after all other forms of financial aid are applied (excluding loans) at the school they plan to attend.
Preference will be given to students who have not previously completed a Bachelor’s Degree.

Recipients will be selected by the St. Louis Community Foundation based on the student’s commitment to, and academic preparation for, higher education; the quality of the essay(s); and consideration of unusual circumstances. Officers or employees of Opaa! Food Management Inc. play no part in the selection of award recipients. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please answer all questions that apply to you, even if they are not marked “required.”

Recipients may reapply for award consideration for a maximum of four years of undergraduate funding provided they continue to make satisfactory progress toward a degree and continue to demonstrate financial need. Please note that because the award amounts are based on available funding and financial need that can change from year to year, the amount of this scholarship award may change if a recipient applies for renewal awards in years to come.

Application status will be changed from submitted to either offered or denied in June. Applicants can view their status by logging in to their Scholarship Central account.
 Contact Ellen Vietor, Scholarship Manager at the St. Louis Community Foundation, scholarships@stlgives.org or 314-880-4960.
Eligibility, financial need, and award amount for this scholarship program will be determined by the St. Louis Community Foundation. This scholarship program, as a component fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation, does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, national origin, gender, age, color, sexual orientation, veteran status, or physical or mental disability.

DonorKevin & Traci ShortAwardup to $2,500, renewableDeadline04/15/2025Supplemental QuestionsBefore you begin this application, please take a minute to read through the scholarship details. This will allow you to see all the eligibility requirements. Click on the scholarship name that is underlined and in blue ink in the upper left-hand corner to see the details. Check here to indicate you have reviewed the eligibility criteria.To be considered for this scholarship, your Scholarship Central General Application MUST include your FALL transcript for the current academic year. The transcript should show your name, school, grades, and cumulative GPA. If you previously uploaded an earlier transcript, please upload a new transcript to your General Application and change your answer to the GPA question. If your college choice has changed, please update that on the General Application as well.What is your relationship to Opaa! Food Management, Inc.?If you are the child/grandchild of an employee, please provide the full name, work location, and job title of your parent/grandparent who has worked for Opaa! Food Management at least one year as of April 15th of this year.If you are an employee, please provide your work location and job title.

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