Mendota High School senior selected as 2023 recipient of the Jacob Family Scholarship

Mendota High School senior Karli Blair Miars was selected to receive the 2023 Jacob Family Scholarship on May 13 during the high school’s graduation ceremony.

The scholarship was presented by Superintendent Denise Aughenbaugh. This is the 25th anniversary of the Jacob Family Scholarship being awarded to an outstanding graduating MHS senior. The scholarship carries an award of $1,000.

The Jacob Family Scholarship was created to honor the memories of Clara Cypreansen Jacob, who taught in Mendota public schools for more than 35 years, and Alfred Otto Jacob, a civic leader and lifelong resident of Mendota. Upon the death of Clara Jacob in 1997, the Jacob Family Scholarship Fund was established by Jeanne Jacob with her husband Gerry Frank and her brother Tom Jacob. The first award was made in 1998. Both of the Jacob children were raised in Mendota and are MHS graduates. Tom matriculated in 1958 and Jeanne in 1965.

The purpose of the scholarship is to provide assistance to an outstanding MHS graduating senior to attend a college of his or her choice. Both Clara and Al Jacob believed in higher education and thought that continued education was the key to future success in life.

Miars will be attending Illinois State University in the fall to pursue a career in elementary education, following in her mother’s footsteps. She is involved in MHS’ Fine Arts Department, is enrolled in an early childhood educational program at an area vocational center and works at the Holy Cross preschool after school. In addition, she is a Sunday school teacher at her church and tutors elementary school kids one day per week, giving her a lot of experience working with children. She is confident in her career path.

Throughout their lives, Clara and Al Jacob were involved with Mendota’s youth. Al was a founding member of the Boy Scouts of Mendota and the Mendota Athletic Boosters Society, as well as serving on Mendota’s City Council. Clara first taught physical education at Mendota and Galesburg high schools. She returned to Mendota when she married Al and taught third grade at Lincoln School once her children were of school age. After retiring from teaching, she tutored children in reading and English. Both helped design and raise funds to build the Mendota Community Swimming Pool in 1958 and served on the board of the Swimming Pool Association. At the time of his death in 1984, Al Jacob was the longest serving alderman in Mendota’s history.