In keeping with its mission to support the education of local youth and rewarding those who embrace community service, the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation announced that Spencer Gates of Hilliard is the recipient of this year’s $10,000 John H. McConnell Scholarship. Gates is a recent graduate of Hilliard Bradley High School and is one of 40 students accepted to the University of Cincinnati’s inaugural architectural engineering program, where he will be studying this fall.

During his high school career, Gates participated in wide-ranging community outreach including TOPSoccer, which provides girls and boys with special needs the opportunity to play the game of soccer. In addition to his community activities, he maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.91 and was a Scholar Athlete for all 10 seasons of varsity sports in which he competed, including soccer, baseball, football and bowling for the Hilliard Bradley Jaguars. Gates was Bradley senior class vice president, a member of the National Honor Society and Future Engineers Club and has been a mentee with over 50 experiential learning hours in architectural engineering with Jezerinac Geers & Associated Inc.

For a complete profile of Spencer, click here for a full interview.

The Blue Jackets players, in partnership with the team’s charitable foundation, established the John H. McConnell Scholarship Fund in 2009 to honor the life and legacy of John H. McConnell, founder of both the team and the Blue Jackets Foundation. The fund, which began with a $25,000 founding donation by team captain Rick Nash, was created to give fans the opportunity to honor Mr. McConnell and his deeply held belief in the importance of bettering one’s own community. Each year, an Ohio high school senior who personifies his character and leadership is awarded the $10,000 scholarship.

For complete information on how to apply for the 2012-13 scholarship or how to make a contribution in support of the fund, visit www.BlueJacketsFoundation.org.

Since its inception in 2000, the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation has awarded $4 million in community grants to non-profit organizations that serve the Foundation’s main pillars of giving: pediatric cancer; education; children’s health and safety; and the development of youth and amateur hockey.

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