Presented by the coaching staff to a graduating senior, the Eagle Award honors one male and one female athlete who has excelled in their chosen athletic activity and who have contributed positively to the total program at Grand Rapids Christian High School. This we had a tie in our voting for male Eagle Athlete of the Year. We voted again with those two candidates and had a tie again. So it is with great pleasure that we award two male Eagle Athlete of the Year recipients.

This award is earned by the senior student-athletes (one male and one female) who have the highest GPA in their class while participating in at least two varsity- level sports. You will all be shocked to discover that both of our award winners are Cross Country and Track athletes.

The Baarman Award is designated for a student-athlete who has to overcome significant challenges to participate in athletics. 

The Most Outstanding Student in Social Studies is awarded The Howard J. Wiarda Scholarship, initiated by Dr. Wiarda, a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School.

Beloved professor, accomplished author, and, over the course of his career, expert advisor to various think tanks, the State Department, and several US Presidents, Dr. Wiarda’s accomplishments are too many to list.  Though Dr. Wiarda passed away in September of 2015, his endowed scholarship maintains his legacy of encouraging and supporting aspiring scholars.

The intent of the Wiarda Scholarship is to recognize a graduating senior who meets three criteria:  The student must excel in courses related to the Social Sciences…  They must illustrate leadership and community involvement…  And they must express a sincere interest in pursuing a career in the field.

The Anna Stegink Memorial Scholarship was created several years ago in remembrance of the young daughter of Phil and Jill Stegink who passed away.  Their friends and colleagues decided an appropriate memorial to Anna would be a scholarship in her name which honors students who learn differently and utilize support services.

One of our goals here at GRCHS is for students to experience language as a way to communicate with more of God’s people, learn from them and enter into their stories.  Each year our Spanish Department selects a student who has studied the language and has the desire to take it out of the classroom for fruitful interaction in God’s world. This year, we have chosen two outstanding students.

There's only one way to become a competitor in the National Merit Scholarship Program and that is by scoring high enough on the PSAT. In October 2017, when these students were juniors, more than 1.5 million high school juniors worldwide took the PSAT.  This group of students represents various levels of accomplishment in that competition.  Two students at Grand Rapids Christian achieved the Commended status; their score was in the top 5% of the 1.5 million juniors who took the PSAT.  

Please help me in congratulating Ben Swedberg and James VanAntwerp.

From the group of students who scored in the top few percent of test takers, approximately 16,000 students are chosen from the Semifinalist designation. To continue in the competition, these students took the SAT, submitted a lengthy application, an essay, and a counselor recommendation. Then both colleges and corporations choose scholarship winners from the Semifinalist pool in order to reduce the group. These students are then given the prestigious rank of National Merit Finalist.

Please help me to honor the two Finalists this year: Sarah Carpenter and Sam Fynewever.