MUSCATINE, Iowa — Three area high school seniors are receiving a $5,000 scholarship for going above and beyond in their community as WQAD News 8 teams up with The Sedona Group to present the SOAR Scholarship.
One of last year's winners was Silas Hoffman of Muscatine. He just completed his freshman year at Iowa State University.
Silas is majoring in mechanical engineering and he's now working part-time at John Deere. He's also involved on campus in college, from playing ultimate frisbee to being a member of a church group.
He won the award in 2022 because of his creativity and outreach in the community.
"It's really awesome to be in this role while I'm still in college because I'm able to work and learn at the same time," Silas said. "No idea is a bad idea. It's good to come up with all sorts of ideas. Put them all out there and share with other people."
Silas said he also plans on getting his master's degree. He wants to become a manager in engineering.
While in college, Silas, along with his three brothers, help mentor the Fire, Island, Robotics Muscatine High School Robotics team. The group wrapped up a successful season, winning the regional robotics competition in St. Louis and the team also qualified for the world championships. The team finished in the top 200 teams out of 600 teams in the competition. The top 200 teams are out of 3,225 teams in the world. The experience took place in Houston, Texas back in April.
