SALEM — The Salem High School Alumni Association is now accepting scholarship applications.

Scholarship applications for members of the Salem High School Class of 2026 and Salem graduates pursuing further education are officially open and available online at www.salemohhioalumni.org. All applications must be submitted no later than midnight March 1.

According to a press release announcing the availability of the applications, the Salem High School Alumni Association was organized in 1882 and created the first high school alumni scholarship fund in Ohio in 1903 and has awarded more than $10 million in scholarship funding to 2,730 Salem scholars pursuing higher education since 1908. In 2025, the Salem High School Alumni Association awarded 116 scholarships totaling $405,500 to 49 Salem High School graduating seniors and 52 alumni.

New this year, the alumni association will be offering two new scholarships in addition to the 33 which were already available to Salem students, the Arthur and Gladys Wright Votaw Memorial First Responder Scholarship and the Cindy O’Brian Memorial Education Scholarship.

The Arthur and Gladys Wright Votaw Memorial First Responder Scholarship was endowed by 1974 Salem Alum Jeffrey Votaw in honor of his parents. Arthur Votaw, a 1947 alum served as a firefighter with the Salem Fire Department for 32 years and was a veteran of the United States Army and served in a mobile army surgical hospital unit during the Korean War. Gladys Wright Votaw, a 1950 alum, was a beautician and worked at Bonfert’s Beauty Shoppe. The scholarship was established for individuals enrolling in “an accredited specialized education or training program that leads to a certificate, license, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or advanced degree as a first responder.” It is “intended to support the education or initial certification of first responders, specifically those who are among the first to arrive and assist at the scene of an emergency.”

High school applicants must have a minimum 2.0 GPA, and any Salem High School graduate who wishes to apply must be enrolled in an accredited specialized education or training program leading to a recognized credential in a first responder field. Eligible first responder pathways include fire service members, such as firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical services personnel like emergency medical technicians and paramedics, search and rescue members, technical or heavy rescue members, and public works employees.

The Cindy O’Brian Memorial Education Scholarship was endowed by 1970 Salem alum Doug O’Brian in the memory of his wife Cindy. Cindy, a 1972 Salem alum, was a teacher for the Salem city School District and taught gifted reading at Southeast Elementary School for 22 years and “is fondly remembered by many for her passion for education and her dedicated commitment to the students she loved to teach.”

Applicants may be high school seniors or postsecondary students interested in pursuing a teaching career and must have a minimum GPA of 3.00 and be enrolled “enrolled in a program leading to a bachelor’s or advanced degree in any field of education.” Applicants must also “explain their desire to become a teacher and how they hope to make a meaningful difference in the lives of future students.”

For questions or additional information, contact Salem High School Alumni Association Executive Director Audrey Null by phone at 330-332-1427 or by email at audrey@salemohioalumni.org.