In January of this year, Veronica Lewis (12) was accepted into the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation Scholarship Pageant.

The St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation Scholarship Pageant is a competition for high school juniors and seniors to win a $40,000 scholarship to any HBCU (Historical Black College/University) in the country.

With graduation and college quickly approaching, Lewis was ahead of the game searching for scholarship opportunities. Lewis heard about the competition from a friend and found out that she met the requirements which were a 2.5 GPA, a four page essay, and two letters of recommendation.

If she wins, Lewis plans on using the $40,000 scholarship to attend HBCU Harris Stowe State University here in St. Louis, Missouri. “Either way if I win or lose, I still end up gaining something” said Lewis, “this was a really good networking experience for me.”

Requirements to win this competition are selling $1500 dollars worth of Gateway Classic tickets. “I haven’t sold as nearly as $1500 but I still have a strong chance at winning because of my work ethic and my leadership skills” said Lewis.

If Lewis wins she will be crowned during halftime, she will receive the $40,000 scholarship to the HBCU of her choice, and will be crowning Ms. Gateway Classic 2014 in the next Gateway Classic game.

Lewis will also be in the Gateway Classic parade which is at 10:00 am on Saturday Sept. 28, 2013. The Gateway Classic game will be starting at 2:00 pm on September 28th, Tennessee State University vs. Central State University.