Dear West High Panthers,

I am truly honored to serve as your President of the West High Alumni Association for the 2019 year. I am thankful for those members of our alumni family who started the association in 1988, some of which are still on our board and others who have moved on to other roles, responsibilities, and commitments. Without these individuals, we would not have been able to provide over $1.5 million in scholarships to deserving West High graduates.

2019 is going to mark a new era for the West High Alumni Association. Our primary focus will still be to provide scholarships to deserving West High Students and to preserve the heritage of West High School, but we are going to take it to the next level. As an association, we are looking to engage more alumni through more transparency and making it easier to connect with us. Our new website will make our processes more accessible for you to engage with the WHAA. You will be able to update your records, nominate your classmates for awards, and keep up to date with reunion information. Students will be able to directly apply to our scholarships on our website which is an improvement from the process now that only lets them use on a school computer.

Concerning scholarships, the association will be looking at the current scholarship structure, and increase scholarship amounts to keep up with the rising price of education. Scholarship recipients will also take part in a mandatory scholarship orientation. This orientation will present recipients with additional tools to be successful in their post-high school education. The association will be check-in in with recipients to see how they are doing after their first semester and connect them with appropriate resources as necessary.

Finally, the association will be focusing on continued ways to sustain itself. We will be looking at additional ways in which to increase the number of scholarships and amounts of scholarships we are able to award. Part of this strategy will include additional partnerships with alumni we have not reached before, connections with local colleges and universities, and other new fundraising ideas that are in the works.

West High School is indeed the home of scholars and champions, and I look forward to seeing us continue to thrive and achieve for years to come!

Bryce Williams
President-Elect
West High Alumni Association
Class of 2005