ALTON - Tyler Hance has been announced as the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club Student of the Year.
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Hance will receive $6,000 in total from the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Scholarship for college. He will receive $1,500 each year of study.
Tyler Hance is the son of Christopher and Amy Hance of Alton. He ranks among the top ten students in his class, and has consistently earned a place on the school’s High Honor Roll as well as on Lewis and Clark’s Dean’s List. He is an Illinois State Scholar, and because of his high academic standing served as a Junior Marshall at graduation ceremonies last year.
Hance was selected as a Scholar Athlete in varsity volleyball and soccer at Alton High as well as being a recipient of the Silver Medallion Award at recent ceremonies recognizing high school scholars for high academic achievement.
Hance has been a member of the Student Council, the school’s varsity soccer and volleyball programs, the school’s Rocketry Club, and the Red Bird Nest. He participated in the Saturday Scholar program for two years, and was a member of a number of student organizations that included the Physics and Spanish Clubs as well as Mu Alpha Theta.
After school hours Hance has worked at various part time jobs and plans to attend the University of Illinois and major in Aerospace Engineering.
Hance expressed deep gratitude for the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club Student of the Year honor.
"I appreciate your recognition of my efforts over the last four years," he said. "I will be majoring in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois. By awarding me this scholarship, you have lightened my financial burden which allows me no focus more on the most important aspect of college, learning. Your generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.
"Few things happen in most people’s lives that they would consider life-changing. I myself can think of three instances that I would consider life-changing. The first of which happened when I was nine years old when my grandma, who was my best friend, lost a three-month-long battle with lung and brain cancer. The second event occurred when I was thirteen years old when my friend’s brother died at the age of six years old from childhood leukemia. These two events had one major thing in common: cancer. The third and final event that I would consider life-changing is when I joined Alton High School Rocketry Club. Within a few weeks of participating in the club, I quickly realized that I was very interested in the design and building process of things that fly. These three events in my life have shown me that I am very passionate about aerospace engineering and cancer research. These two things have guided my decisions in my past and my choices about my future and how I plan to continue my life."
Vance continued and said: "In the past, I have set up a toy drive at my mother’s job for the children at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Cancer Wing. I have also participated in St. Baldrick’s Foundation at Alton High School. I raised $2,000 for childhood cancer research and I grew my hair out for a year and shaved my head for the event. For my future, I plan to address one of my passions through career and to address the other through community service. I am attending the University of Illinois in the fall of 2020 and I will be majoring in aerospace engineering with the ultimate goal to be an aerospace engineer at a company in the United States. I also plan to continue my work with childhood cancer research throughout my life and I hope to be able to help people affected by cancer for the rest of my life."
Vance said cancer and aerospace engineering have both changed his life in enormous ways.
"In my future, I hope that engineering as a whole will continue to affect me in positive ways and I hope to be able to contribute to making cancer not be able to devastate families around the globe like it did mine."
