With the end of the school year in sight and approximately 700 students preparing to receive their diplomas, the class of 2016 has something else to be proud of.

According to the Career Center specialist, Pat Phillips, “Our academic total for the 2016 year is $17,134, 444.” This number exceeds last year by $654 thousand.

In comparison to other schools, Perry uses academic scholarships in their calculations.

“I don’t include athletic scholarships like most schools do,” says Principal Dan Serrano,  “that makes them look better than us.”

Typically speaking, the scholarship application process really starts to move around August or September of the senior year. The process is directed by Phillips “Each year at the beginning of the school year the seniors come in and do a survey for me,” says Phillips “and when I get scholarship information I email it out to them.”

In addition, Phillips keeps an updated page on the school website with scholarship information. “As I get them [scholarships] I post them, as they expire they go off the website, everything is current.”

While the Career Center plays an important role in receiving scholarships teachers are also a necessary part for letters of recommendations. College Preparation English 12 teacher, Kate Copic, added “I probably write twenty-five letters a year,” she continued, “They are a requirement for the application process, so it’s something a student has to include.”

Perry students are fortunate to have a Career Center to aid them in the financial side of college. Chandler Unified School District provides all of the high schools with a Career Center, however “that’s not the same case in some of the other schools. They’ve cut those positions unfortunately.”

Phillips praises seniors for being proactive and being responsible for funding their future education. She ends off with, “I’m really amazed every year at what our students total for scholarship money is, ready for 2017.”