Local student earns scholarship to Grinnell

Dillon Rawlings wasn’t even planning to apply for the scholarship.

However, suggestions from the people around him convinced Dillon to apply for the Questbridge scholarship, which matches highly-qualified students to universities across the country and pays for their tuition.

Dillon said he hadn’t thought he would be selected, but applied anyway after his mom, Robin, his sister, Tara, and school counselor, Jeralyn Mire, encouraged him to do so.

“It was really last-second,” he said. “Like, the week before.”

Dillon is the second Sandpoint High School student to receive the scholarship, Mire said — the first being his older sister, Tara, who was awarded the scholarship two years before.

The Questbridge scholarship allows applicants to rate universities they would like to attend that have partnered with the program. In Dillon’s case, he was partnered with one of his top choices, Grinnell College in Iowa. That also means Dillon will attend the same college that Tara, an English major, was accepted to through the same scholarship two years before.

“They’re both very different from each other, but they’re both very intelligent and they work very hard at whatever they do,” Robin said.

To qualify for the scholarship, Dillon had to meet rigorous academic requirements, write two essays and get letters of recommendation, which he received from Mire, his band director, Aaron Gordon, and his math teacher, Nachele Search.

Even more than his academic standing, though, what makes Dillon stand out most is his work ethic and determination, Robin said.

Dillon, who is mostly deaf in one ear, couldn’t hear most things until he was three years old, and spent several years in speech therapy. He’s also had numerous corrective surgeries.

Despite that challenge, Dillon nurtured his talent in music into some considerable achievements, playing jazz alto saxophone, and making the top chair in state band competitions on multiple occasions.

In addition to his school work and extracurricular, Dillon spends significant amounts of time volunteering, Robin said, and has a lot of experience helping others.

Dillon works hard and always does good work, Mire said, but isn’t one to brag.

“He’s really helpful, kind, all the things you’d hope a student would be,” she said. “He has such a quiet confidence. He simply does all that he does, and does it well. He doesn’t need any attention or accolades.”

Both Mire and Search described Dillon as kind, curious and intelligent.

“Dillon’s a pretty special kid. He’s a really nice kid, for starters,” Search said. “He was in my honors precalculus class. He’s inquisitive, [and] he strives to do really well.”

In a way, Search said, she was surprised that her student had gotten the prestigious scholarship — but in a way she wasn’t.

“Not only is he gifted; he is also willing to work very hard,” Search wrote in her letter of recommendation. “He has a great combination of intelligence and a powerful work ethic.”

Dillon said he would encourage other students to try for things they’re interested in, even if they don’t know if they can do it.

“To all the kids who don’t know what they’re going to do yet,” he said, “just go after it, because you never know.”