Each year, six high-school students are recognized during the opening ceremony of Veishea as the leaders of tomorrow.

These students are the Veishea scholars, and each has won a $500 scholarship based on their scholastic and leadership ability to be used toward their freshman year of college the next year.

“This is a very important scholarship because it brings people who will be great leaders to campus,” said Toni Kirby, Veishea scholarship program co-chair. “This is a great recruitment tool for new leaders and up and coming leaders at Iowa State.”

The winners are Ashley Glade, Guthrie Center; Amanda Hall, Hamburg; Alissa MacInnes, Omaha, Neb.; Conrad Spangler, Hillsboro; Bryan Steussy, Jefferson; and Samantha Danielson, Pleasant Hill.

The winners will arrive on campus Thursday and will take campus tours and attend many Veishea events to get a taste of life at Iowa State, said Kirby, junior in chemical engineering.

“Veishea is the largest student-run organization, and we like to award high school seniors who show leadership while in high school,” she said. “We do this to expose the winners to leadership at Iowa State.”

To be eligible, students must be in the top 15 percent of their class, have a 26 or higher on the ACT, have a 3.5 or above grade point average, and fill out an application that includes two essay questions and a list of activities. Kirby said phone interviews were given to the top candidates of about 100 applicants.

Each of the six winners will receive a $500 non-renewable scholarship. The money is raised from the pancake breakfast held on Central Campus from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday.

“Only six people become scholars – it feels really nice to be one of few elite members of all leaders coming into freshman class next year,” Steussy said. “I’m excited about the award, because my teacher and friend are both graduates of ISU and told me what a prestigious thing it was to receive this award.”

Glade said she feels the award is a privilege and acknowledges her activities have helped her out.

“It means a great deal that I was able to use leadership skills to help me obtain a scholarship,” Glade said. “My activities have definitely helped. They taught me to be strong leader and how to communicate well and give back to the community.”

Steussy also said activities have helped him become who he is today.

“My activities made me who I am,” he said. “They have really opened up a lot of doors and given me lots of opportunities to shape my attitude and personality.”