Since 2006, the Dublin Irish Festival Scholarship has been awarded to graduating high school seniors who have shown exceptional community involvement as Festival volunteers. Scott Elliott was one of the first two students to be awarded the scholarship, which was worth $1,000 at that time. This year Jaclyn Chu from Dublin Jerome High School and Sam Kieffer from Dublin Coffman High School are each receiving $2,500 scholarships.
Dublin Life: What high school did you go to?
Scott Elliott: I went to Coffman for two years then Jerome for two years. I was in the first graduating class at Jerome.
DL: How did you come to receive the Dublin Irish Festival Scholarship?
SE: Well, I started volunteering with the Irish Festival in middle school. I started out working in the Wee Folks area, then I moved up to hospitality and then I moved up to the golf cart, driving the entertainers around. I think my (senior) year was the first year they had the scholarship (for volunteers); my mom saw it in the newspaper, I think. I applied and I won.
DL: What did you have to do for the application?
SE: Part of it was writing an essay about what volunteering means to you and how volunteering at the Irish Festival has prepared you for your future. And then I think I had to get a couple of letters of recommendation, ma
ybe.
DL: Where did you attend college and what did you study?
SE: I went to The Ohio State University, and I majored in sports management. I graduated in winter 2011.
DL: How did the scholarship help you?
SE: It helped defray the cost of college. I was always going to go to Ohio State. My dad worked at OSU, so my family had this connection. But the scholarship definitely made it an easier decision.
DL: What are you doing now?
SE: Right now I actually work at the Dublin (Community) Recreation Center. I’m the open gym supervisor, and I also do a little softball and basketball league supervision. I also work part-time for the Worthington rec center supervising volleyball leagues there.
DL: Are you still involved in the Irish Festival?
SE: I have volunteered every year since I graduated. I think last year was the first time I hadn’t. I signed up, but then I got an internship with the Arizona Cardinals for the preseason, so I was (in Arizona) from mid-July all the way through the end of August.
DL: What was the internship like?
SE: I was working with the equipment staff. We did lots of laundry. We also prepared and packed the equipment, unpacked it all when we got to training camp, set up the field when we got to practice and assisted the coaches during practice, getting them whatever they needed. We would also be in the locker rooms before and after practice if they needed equipment. … It was pretty intense. We would work 70-80 hours a week. We were there 12 hours a day, almost.
It was definitely interesting to see how professional sports leagues are run. I would like to work in more recreational sports, but it was interesting to get that competitive sports experience and see how it compares and contrasts to recreational sports.
DL: What do you like about the Dublin community?
SE: I like the community. It feels like there’s a lot of connectivity between people who live here. You get to know your neighbors, and there are lots of interactions. Dublin puts on lots of events that are good for the community.
DL: What do you like about the Irish Festival?
SE: I just think it’s interesting. It’s a large event. Part of sports management is event management, and I’ve always been interested in that as well. It interests me to see how they can bring all these people together from the community, and even outside the community, and put on an event that everyone can enjoy.
DL: Will you attend the Irish Festival this year?
SE: I am planning to attend and volunteer. I would hope to volunteer in hospitality golf carts again.
Lisa Aurand is editor of Dublin Life Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
