2020 West grad Martin Philip and current West senior Katy Whitmore were in the first batch of the Vax-2-School scholarship winners that were announced earlier this month. The two students won $10,000 as a part of Ohio’s campaign to get its citizens vaccinated and to incentivize the vaccine. 150 Ohio students, two of which were Katy and Martin, will win the $10,000 scholarship; five will win $100,000. The scholarship money is to be used for in-state tuition at an Ohio university. 

When Martin got the call while he was perusing at Target, he initially thought it was “a scam, but [he] had a feeling [he] had to pick up.”  He described feeling surprised, as it was a lottery, and is thankful that he can cover some of his college expenses. Katy had a similar reaction to the email, as she and her dad “put [her] name in with zero intention of winning anything.” She expressed that she is still in shock. She is so grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and said that “it’s crazy to [her] that all [she] really did was get a vaccine.” Although the drawings are now closed, Ohio made an impactful move in incentivizing the COVID-19 vaccine. Congratulations to Martin and Katy!