As her senior year at Berkshire High School has evolved, in a brand new building complete with all the trimmings, Natalie Hering has seen some things in her life go around in a nearly complete circle.
As her senior year at Berkshire High School has evolved, in a brand new building complete with all the trimmings, Natalie Hering has seen some things in her life go around in a nearly complete circle.
After her family moved to the Berkshire district from Grand Valley after her eighth grade year, she quickly settled into a new routine. Now, as her high school career nears its ending, the future has been on her mind.
One of the university settings she’s explored has been Thiel College in Greenville, PA. Last December she ventured to Greenville for a campus tour and interviewed with a group of professors involved with a scholarship program.
She was not sold totally on where she wanted to go for her college career at the time, and as recently as a week ago, there still was some doubt.
Likewise, her interview was one of 150 that the committee conducted. But according to Thiel representative Sam Faber, the process was really something special, and concluded with Hering being among five winners of a complete four-year tuition, the only recipient from Ohio.
Hering herself had no idea of the award. One recent evening at Berkshire High, though, just after basketball practice got going, it was suddenly halted — and Faber was there to present her with a large symbolic check showing just how much her college career would cost in tuition, with not a penny coming from her family’s pockets.
As Faber entered the junior high gym, everybody was watching and wondering what was going on.
Then Natalie’s family — dad Bill, mom Michelle, and brother Colin — entered the gym carrying the check.
Faber spoke first: “I’m here to announce that Natalie Hering is the winner of one of five full-tuition four-year scholarships to Thiel College. She visited with us back in December on a campus visit. We have a program where we interview 150 applicants for these special scholarships. There are only five of them awarded, and I’m proud to announce that Natalie is one of those five for this year. She is also the only one from Ohio, and after going through the process of interviewing with our body of four professors during that visit, she has been chosen for this award.”
During the interview, Hering had been asked about topics ranging from herself and her favorite activities to ambitions she holds for her future, both scholastically and socially.
Among her goals is playing basketball at the next level, and this award will also see that part of her life coming to fruition for the Tomcats.
“I’m in shock right now,” she said as she settled into what she had just experienced in the junior high gym. “I wasn’t really sure just yet about where I wanted to go to college.
“I’ve worked really hard here. It’s been such a blessing for me to know so many great people here. I try to work my hardest in everything I do. I hadn’t really considered Thiel much until that visit, too. I love the campus, but I had not made up my mind until this happened.
“I’ll just try to start over again in my next level of life and do my best. Making a smooth transition will be the key for me. I will just have to work harder, especially playing basketball, but it will be worth the effort, I’m sure.”
Keeping the award a surprise was an effort in itself for Natalie’s parents.
“We learned about it about a week and a half ago ourselves,” mom Michelle said. “We’re so proud of everything she’s done here, so it’s so exciting.
“Keeping it a secret for today’s presentation was tough on all of us. It may have been hardest keeping it from Colin. He supports her all the time, and asking a young guy not to share the news would have been nearly impossible.”
Dad Bill was wearing a smile from ear to ear at the presentation.
“Any parent just wants the very best for their kids,” he said. “This is just a dream come true for all of us. She almost didn’t end up at Thiel, too. She considered it, so when we went for a campus visit, they were having the interviews for the scholarships. We told her she might as well give it a try, she had nothing to lose by doing it. It’s a small campus, she felt comfortable there, and she really wants to keep playing basketball, and she has a good chance there.”
It’s not often that a student gets a check for $139, 856 to cover her entire college tuition. But Hering has worked hard, and she looks forward to the challenges ahead.
Knowing her work ethic, Coach James Bosley predicts she’ll make a great Tomcat.
“She’s just the perfect type of person to build a team around,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with a great group since I got her to coach, and we’ve had success because the girls play with attitude in learning the game while caring so much about each other as well, personally. That’s the secret to success in everything, simply caring, so I’m really proud of her for her to get this award.”
