Summit Christian Academy (SCA), Lee鈥檚 Summit, Missouri, senior Courtney Price-Dukes is the recipient of the 2017-18 Linwood Sexton Scholarship, which provides full tuition, books, fees and on-campus housing for four years.
The scholarship has given a number of students the opportunity to obtain a college education since it was established in 2000 and will continue Sexton鈥檚 legacy for years to come. He died March 29, 2017.
Price-Dukes joins several remarkable Sexton Scholars at Wichita State, including 2013 winner Eddie Sandoval, 2014 winner Cedrick Ambrose, 2015 winner Essence Dickenson and 2016 winner Oscar Clark.
A student leader
Price-Dukes was highly involved in her high school, taking several opportunities to not only pursue leadership in current programs but push for development in programs she wanted to see. When she started attending SCA, she decided to build the speech program to be more competitive and succeeded in becoming a state and national speech / debate qualifier for two consecutive years.
Courtney Price-Dukes
In addition to her pursuits in speech, she has participated in choir, multiple theater productions, student council, the Chik-fil-a Leadership Academy and National Honor Society, while participating as a leader for small groups.
鈥淪he is a simply amazing young woman, a leader and overcomer who embraces life鈥檚 challenges with passion, drive and a smile that can light up a room,鈥� says Ruth Terry, a teacher at SCA. 鈥淐ourtney serves her classmates and her community in a variety of leadership and community service venues.鈥�
These community service venues include her work as a volunteer to care for special needs children and an advocate for foster care. She spends time serving as a Sunday school teacher and has participated in mission trips to Jamaica.
Scholarship history
The Sexton Scholarship was established to honor its namesake, Linwood Sexton, who was a Wichita State football legend and a member of the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
He was an untiring advocate for equal opportunity and social justice, and was honored with many awards for his efforts in promoting understanding and respect among people of different racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds.
Incoming freshman applicants must have a minimum 3.00 grade point average and demonstrate financial need. All students are eligible to apply, but preference is given to minority students.
The scholarship is automatically renewed as long as the student maintains satisfactory academic progress. The application review process is completed by staff representatives from Undergraduate Admissions and faculty from the W. Frank Barton School of Business and College of Education.
Each applicant is required to submit various scholarship materials, including a one-page essay on leadership and why he or she should be the recipient of the award.