We are excited to announce that Sidney Hogan, graduating senior from West Ottawa High School, has been awarded the first-ever Randy Boileau Storyteller Scholarship for the 2023-24 academic school year!
The scholarship, managed by the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area will be awarded once annually to a graduating seniors enrolling at Grand Valley State University to study marketing, advertising, public relations, journalism, video production, graphic design, or another communication-related subject.
Erich and Randy Boileau recently had the opportunity to meet Sidney and her parents at the Community Foundation’s Scholarship Donor/Recipient Meet & Greet event on June 8th. Donors and recipients gathered at the Youth Basin Conference Center to share cupcakes and lemonade at the reception. Erich and Randy were thrilled to learn about how motivated Sidney is in her academic pursuits, as well as many extracurriculars, including swimming, water polo, the National Honors Society and writing for the school paper, “The West Ottawan.”
Sidney plans to attend Grand Valley State University in the Fall of 2023 to study film and media, and she has already been spending time looking into job and internship opportunities in the Grand Rapids area. “I’m very excited for this next chapter of my life, and the money you have provided me will help me thrive at Grand Valley,” Sidney said. “I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me.”
The Randy Boileau Storyteller Scholarship was established this year to honor the importance of storytelling in contemporary society. “My father Randy started our company in 2005 with the belief that narratives could bring people and communities together to accomplish great things,” he said. “Narratives transform the complex issues our culture is facing into something our brains know how to handle.” It is in recognition of the importance of storytelling in communication strategy and Randy’s honor that Boileau & Co. has established this scholarship.
“It is a rare honor to have my name associated with something so worthy. Some storytellers are born and others are made. But all storytellers—and the communities they serve—are made better by opportunities for education,” Randy said in response to the establishment of the scholarship. “Now if we can just find candidates who can pronounce my last name correctly the honor will be complete!”
