CSF students honored
By Alyssa McCollum
Features Editor
California Scholarship Federation (CSF) recognizes and honors students who achieve in college preparatory classes.
However, there are a few requirements to become a CSF member. A student can earn a CSF membership by earning qualifying grades each semester and submitting an application each semester that proves the student is eligible. The CSF State By-Laws specify a point system that establishes the membership requirements. To be certain of eligibility, a student has to earn sufficient points each semester from pre-approved course lists. Membership isn’t allowed until the second semester of a student’s sophomore year.
At LHS, students also have to have a one-hour tutoring session after school on Wednesdays to complete their membership.
To be a member of CSF students must not have a D or F in any course, even ones that they don’t need to use to qualify. Having a D or F would disqualify a student from membership at any time. Membership is neither automatic, mandatory, or retroactive. Students have to apply within the first four weeks of each semester.
Being a member of CSF alone is an accomplishment, but being a lifetime member is even a greater one. To be a lifetime member (seal bearer) of CSF, a student must qualify for membership four semesters in the last three years of high school, one of those in their senior year. He or she must also pay $7 dues to be member each semester. By doing so, the student earns the privilege to obtain the CSF gold seal on diplomas and transcripts. The students also get to wear the CSF gold sash during the graduation ceremony, which demonstrates how hard they have worked in school.
By qualifying as a life member, a student also qualifies for the Seymour Memorial Award. But to officially qualify, students must achieve lifetime membership status after the first semester of their senior year in order to be nominated. Students are not allowed to directly apply for the award. A CSF advisor of a chapter in good standing may nominate up to two of the school’s seal bearers for the award. With their advisor, the student submits their application to the Seymour Memorial Awards Committee, which selects 10 finalists in each of the five CSF regions. Each finalist receives $2,000 from CSF, but students have to attend their regional conferences in order to receive the award. During the conference the student participates in an interview, and one in each of the ten regions is selected as the recipient of an additional $3,000.
CSF is important in many ways. It helps motivate students to do a good job in school, it teaches students responsibility, and if a student perseveres enough, then he or she can receive awards that will help him or her get through college and life.
