By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Ian Burke, a senior at Brandon High School, was chosen as one of the 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletics Association Scholar Athlete award. Of those 120 finalists, the MHSAA will award scholarships to 32 students state-wide. Thousands of applicants were received for the 2020-2021 school year.
Burke, 17, plays on the varsity football and soccer teams, and has plans to go to Michigan State University after high school.
“I want to go into mechanical engineering, but I’m also going to try to walk onto the football team,” he said. “My dad is an engineer, so I’ve kind of grown up seeing what he does and I find it really interesting. Plus I like math and science.”
More than 1,000 applicants were submitted through 418 school districts across the state. To be eligible for the award, students must have a grade point average of at least 3.50 and have a varsity letter in at least one sport. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
The winners of the award will be announced beginning in February.