Snitker is IHSADA/NIAAA Scholarship Award Winner and Shrine Bowl selection ...

Waukon High School senior Mitchell Snitker was honored as the 2017-2018 Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association/National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Male Athlete Student Scholarship Award Winner for the state of Iowa at the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association annual convention and banquet held March 25 in Coralville. He is pictured in the center of the submitted photo at right with Waukon High School Assistant Principal and Activities Director Brian Hilsabeck (left) and Waukon Middle School Principal and Activities Director Jen Garin (right).

As this year’s selected Iowa winner, Snitker received a $500 scholarship and plaque at the March 25 banquet which he and members of his family attended at the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. As part of the qualification criteria, applicants had to write an essay on how high school sports have impacted their life, along with filling out an application highlighting their academic achievements and community service. Snitker read his essay to those in attendance at the March 25 banquet (see submitted photo below).

There is one male and one female from each state honored as the award winner and Snitker’s application and essay now advance to the regional round of competition with student-athletes from four other states, including Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. One winner from these states will then be awarded a $1,500 scholarship and the opportunity to then be selected as the national winner.

In accordance with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s (NIAAA) purpose to promote, facilitate and increase the knowledge and understanding of the vital role of interscholastic athletics in the educational system, this scholarship program is focused on fostering and acknowledging the partnership between the NIAAA and secondary education. The scholarships recognize the distinguished scholastic, leadership and citizenship attributes of high school student-athletes, and the importance of high school athletics in each student’s life.

In addition to this most recent scholarship honoring, Snitker has also been selected as a member of the North Squad for the Iowa Shrine Bowl All-Star Football Classic to be played July 21 at the UNI-Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls. However, Snitker will not be able to participate in the game competition after suffering a knee injury during this past winter’s basketball season and currently rehabilitating from surgery to repair the knee.

In addition to showcasing football and cheerleading talents (see photo and write-up above left for Waukon cheerleaders selected as well for this year’s Shrine Bowl), the annual Shrine Bowl benefits the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children by raising sponsorship funding that is donated directly to the Shriner Hospital program. Each individual participant in the Shrine Bowl is asked to raise $800 in sponsorship and/or donation funding. The cheerleaders, as well as the football players selected for the All-Star Classic, are able to participate in a number of activities hosted by the Shriners that week. Some of those events include the Shrine Bowl Parade, an Honors Banquet, and mini-camps where those high school participants interact with hospital children.