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STUDENT ACHIETEMEHTSYoung earns scholarshipsto Pacific LutheranDamon Young may not have to take out thatloan he was figuring on after all.Young, a sophomore at Cowley, was awarded afinancial aid package worth $23,130 to attendPacific Lutheran University, a private four-yearuniversity in Tacoma, Wash.The aid includes grants from the state ofWashington, federal grants, and five separate scholarships."In our society today, athletes are alwaysrewarded through scholarships and things like that,and I didn't think it would be possible to get fulltuition to somewhere, being in Student GovernmentAssociation and other activities," Young said. "It'sreally rewarding to be involved in academic pursuitsand have it pay off."Young was SGA president this past year atCowley, and was named December 1997 Student ofthe Month. He also was involved in several otherclubs and organizations on campus. The ArkansasCity native, who had a brief military career afterhigh school, said Pacific Lutheran gives him achance to continue being involved."I checked out many schools when decidingupon a transfer school, but Pacific Lutheran wasthe only one that offered the wide array of activitiesthat I'm involved in," he said. "I look forwardto the challenge of going and getting involved inthose activities on their campus, just as I've donehere at Cowley."Pacific Lutheran, with an enrollment of about4,000 students, is best known for its schools ofcommunication and theatre.At PLU, Young will participate in debate andforensics, continue to work in student government,and volunteer his time on campus. This past year,Young was named a National Education DebateAssociation Ail-American, one of only five studentsnationwide to receive the award.Danceline squad competesat nationals in FloridaA 90-second videotape helped Cowley'sDanceline to the national competition.Lana Sleeper, instructor of the all-femaledance troupe, turned in Cowley's video entry lastDecember and received word that the college wasranked No. 1 among the nation's community collegesthat submitted tapes.The six-member Tigerette Performance Linecompeted at the national contest April 1-5,1998, inDaytona Beach, Fla. The National CheerleadersAssociation sponsored the event."This is especially good for recruitment purposes,"Sleeper said. "I always knew that our qualitywas really good. I want to get the word out inthe state so that other people will want to comehere to dance."Six regulars and three alternates made the tripto Florida. The six on the Performance Line wereKara Kemp and Chelsea Sanderholm fromArkansas City, Sara Didion from Maize, TiffanyMolloy and Kelly Lowry from Derby, and AshleyTuzicka from Wichita East. Sanderholm and Lowrywere freshmen during the 1997-98 school year.The three alternates were Erin Eubank, a freshmanfrom West Elk; Mary Egan, a freshman fromCircle High School; and Katie McCannon, a sophomorefrom Wichita South.VICA students attendleadership instituteDusty Schalk learned how to work with a largegroup of people. Becky Russell gained leadershipskills. Angie Anstine learned new teamwork skills.Alex Bergkamp learned to think under pressure.And Austin Graves learned that it takes a diversepopulation to run the world.But allof the Cowley students came awayfrom the Washington Leadership Institute with abetter sense of pride and respect for their country.The five Cowley students were in VocationalIndustrial Clubs of America. Their trip toWashington, D.C., in September 1997 was fundedin by local businesses, the college, and themselves."You have to understand the strengths andweaknesses of everyone on the team to makeprogress," said Graves, the president of the nationalVICA organization. "I also had the unique opportunityat the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where Ihad the honor of laying a wreath at the tomb. Eachyear only about 30 people get to do that. I'm acompletely different American because of that."The five students were among 250 who attendedfrom 26 states. All five are from Arkansas Cityand allare active in Cowley's VICA chapter.Schalk is president of the Kansas post-secondarygroup."I came away with a better respect for mycountry and how to work with 50 to 60 differentpeople who want to do things their own way," saidSchalk, parliamentarian of the local VICA chapter."I also gained better respect for myself. I was presidentof our chapter in Washington, and that taughtme things I didn't know I was able to do."