Bonita (left) when he found out he won the scholarship. To the right is the Nordstrom scholarship sponsor who came to Sherwood to present the scholarship. photo by Hannah Chertock ’12

Senior Blake Bonita won a $10,000 scholarship to college from the Nordstrom community last week. He was one of 8 students selected from a pool of 1,500 other applicants last school year.

Applications are due in May of a student’s junior year.  The application includes an essay about a role model and an interview. “I wrote about my grandfather who escaped the Holocaust in Germany and then came to America and started one of the most successful camera companies in the country. The essay was easy to write because my grandfather’s story taught me so much and his principles still live true today,” Bonita said.

Bonita went for an interview with 12 top business leaders in Tyson’s Corner,Virginia. “As intimidating as it may be, what I found was that they were people just like anyone else and just being personal and honest goes a long way,” said Bonita.

Next came the waiting process, applicants hear the results in October of their senior year. “The waiting process was grueling. Waiting to find out if you win with all you have put into the process and $10,000 on the line is absolutely arduous,” he said.  Bonita discovered he won last week in Principal Gregory’s office accompanied by his teachers, a Nordstrom sponsor, his Mom and a giant check for $10,000. In this meeting he mentioned he found himself growing anxious as November slowly approached.

Bonita plans to use this money towards University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill or Vanderbilt University. “The difference a scholarship makes, whether it be $100 or $10,000, is immense because every penny will help and the experience is once in a lifetime. Scholarships are a keystone mark of what great gifts still remain in society today. Don’t miss out.”