Article and photo courtesy of MHSAA
Vikram Shanker (center) of Midland Dow High School was honored as a recipient of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Award at the 2014 MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on March 22. Shown with Shanker are: (from left) Jim Robinson, executive vice president of Farm Bureau Insurance; and John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. Shanker will receive a $1,000 scholarship from Farm Bureau Insurance to be used at the institution of higher learning he attends this fall. Farm Bureau Insurance awarded 32 scholarships, proportionately by school classification, to students with a 3.50 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average who have previously lettered in at least one sport in which postseason competition is sponsored by the MHSAA.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.