TJ Seniors Sprague and Moehlman awarded with Denver Retired Teachers Scholarship.
Billy Sprague and Tommy Moehlman are awarded the DPS Retired Teachers Scholarship. Photo by Rebecca Holt
Every year, a group of retired DPS employees choose ten DPS students who display vigor, educational drive, and intelligence to award the Denver Retired Teachers Scholarship. This year, Seniors Billy Sprague and Tommy Moehlman displayed these traits and were granted this prestigious scholarship worth $7,500, which is renewable for four years.
Both Sprague and Moehlman applied for the scholarship in February, and were soon asked to return as semi-finalists for an interview with three former DPS employees. “The interview went pretty well, although I was incredibly worried at first,” said Moehlman. “I was very uncomfortable at first, but the interviewers were really nice. We ended up just having a friendly conversation.”
Sprague, also asked back for a second interview by three retired teachers, had a similar experience. “The interview went well, but I was really nervous,” said Sprague. “They gave me the questions they were going to ask me 30 minutes before the interview, which really shook me up. A lot of them were typical ones, like what college we wanted to go to, what career we expected to pursue, and stuff like that. But there were a few that were harder, like our opinions on current events, and how we could improve our school.”
Sprague became aware of the scholarship through his family. “My brother got it five years ago, so I was already aware of it,” said Sprague.
In contrast, Moehlman was chosen by school counselors to be offered the opportunity. “They chose me based on my GPA and my test scores,” said Moehlman. “I was really excited when I got it. The whole scholarship is a huge help to me.”
Both Moehlman and Sprague were thrilled to be awarded with the scholarship. “I was pumped when I got it,” laughed Sprague, pumping his fist. “I did a little dance, and I think I threw my letter into the air.”
After being awarded such a prominent scholarship, the two honored Spartans have large plans for college. “I plan on going to CU Boulder,” said Moehlman. “I’m thinking of majoring in biochemistry, but I’m not sure. I think I’ll find out when I get there. My only other expectation is to continue playing soccer. Other than that, I just want to try to explore and check out all the possibilities in college.”
In addition to being awarded the Denver Retired Teachers Scholarship, Sprague has also been granted a football scholarship to Colorado School of Mines. “It’ll be great to have both scholarships; I hope it’ll pay for me all the way through,” said Sprague. “I’m definitely going to CSM, and can’t wait to play football. I’m going to major in some sort of engineering, and probably minor in business.”
After being awarded a scholarship worthy of $7,500 per year, both Spartans are ecstatic. “The whole scholarship is a huge help,” said Moehlman. “It makes college seem a lot less threatening.”
