By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Uncle Sam ponies up for THS grads’ college dreams
Scarlet Hansen
Scarlet Hansen poses for a picture with Blue and Gold Officer Darren McKay during the Turlock High Senior Awards night. Hansen received a $250,000 scholarship and an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. (Photo contributed).

Turlock High School students garnered more than $600,000 in scholarships at Thursday’s Senior Awards Night in the school’s gymnasium.

Prabhjot Kaur and Scarlet Hanson accounted more than half a million of that haul.

Kaur received the National ROTC Scholarship while Hanson earned an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Both received oversized ceremonial checks, signed by Uncle Sam, for $250,000.

Hanson is headed to the Academy – she received her Congressional nomination from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-El Dorado Hills) – unsure of her major or even if she’ll ultimately choose to make a career of the military.

“Right now, though, aviation is kind of interesting to me,” said Hanson, who joked that she only recently saw the original “Top Gun” for the first time. “It’s something I’m thinking about.”

Prabhjot Kaur
Prabhjot Kaur poses for a picture with Col. David Thompson, Senior Naval Science Instructor at Turlock High School. Kaur received the National ROTC Scholarship for $250,000 (Photo contributed).

Kaur is headed to Columbia University, where she’ll continue to serve in the ROTC at SUNY Maritime College. There remains a chance she could end up at UC Berkeley, which has its own ROTC Unit.

“I’m still waiting on a specific undergrad research offer from Cal, related to constitutional law,” said Kaur, who plans to major in political science before entering law school; she even has thoughts of running for elected office someday. Either way, she’ll have to serve four or five years in the U.S. Navy after college graduation, as will Hanson.

While both will serve stints in the Navy, and each earned $250,000 scholarships, there’s one more thing the THS duo has in common: both were thrilled to learn of their good fortune.

“I opened my college portal and saw that I had a fully qualified offer of appointment to Annapolis,” said Hanson, whose father, Matt Hanson, is a graduate of West Point. “I called my mom and, yeah, I started crying. I’ve worked so hard to achieve this.”

Kaur reacted similarly.

“I remember getting the email that said I was selected for the scholarship,” said Kaur. “I tried to act nonchalant, but I did cry. Seeing my family so happy just warms my heart.”

Hanson earned an additional $3,500 in scholarship money with awards from the American Association of University Women ($1,000), Sons of the American Legion ($500), NJROTC Booster Club ($1,000) and Turlock Bulldogs Aquatic Boosters ($1,000). Kaur secured an additional $2,200 with scholarships from the Stanislaus Bar Association ($1,000), NJROTC Boosters Club ($700), and Turlock Chamber of Commerce ($500).

Kaur has 4.6 grand-point average, while Hanson maintains a 4.41 GPA.