There are five students in the Quad City area who are "soaring" tonight thanks to a scholarship from The Sedona Group and the help of WQAD.
On Wednesday, May 28th, 2014, News 8's Angie Sharp surprises the third of five winners - a student who is hitting all her goals.
Annie Geitner is graduating from Knoxville High School as a three-season athlete. Right before one of her softball games, WQAD and The Sedona Group surprised Annie with a $1,000 scholarship.
"I'm really appreciative," says Annie. "It'll probably pay for some of my books and stuff - just anything for school."
Annie is going to the University of Illinois and plans to major in either Dietetics or Food Science. Last year, she visited the National Soybean Research Lab at the University of Illinois after being selected by 4H to conduct the Clover Challenge Soybean Research Project.
"We learned about different soybean products so that's what I based my project on," says Annie. "I made cookies and I made cake and I did one with regular flour and one with soy flour and then I gave them to people at my 4H club to test to see if they could tell a difference because soy flour is more healthier and they couldn't tell a difference so that just means that you can use soy flour as a substitute."
"I plan to research more like I did in my Soybean Research Lab and just encourage people that there are alternative ways to eat that are healthier."
Annie says she's also passionate about Dietetics and Food Science because of our country's growing childhood obesity rate.
"Kids are really important to me," she says. "I love little kids, so if they grow up healthy then that just makes the world healthier."
Annie is number one in her senior class and is also a regular blood donor. She says she wants to continue to help others live healthier lifestyles.
"I think that's a really awesome thing if you can help somebody."
The Sedona Group’s S.O.A.R. Scholarship stands for Strength, Opportunity, Achievement, and Resolve. The $1,000 scholarship is given away every year to five area high school seniors.