Ridgefield High's Clouse selected for Bohdan Kolinsky scholarship

Stephen G. Clouse, a senior at Ridgefield High School, is the winner of the 13th annual Bohdan Kolinsky Sports Journalism Scholarship, given by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance.

He will receive his award at the Alliance’s 75th yearly Gold Key Dinner at 4 p.m., April 24 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. He plans to pursue journalism studies at Penn State University.

The Kolinsky Scholarship is named for a longtime scholastic sports editor of the Hartford Courant who died in 2003. It is awarded through statewide competition on the basis of initiative, community involvement and academic and journalistic promise. The winner receives $2,000 for the freshman year of college and may qualify for as much as $10,000 in aid over a four-year span.

Clouse, 18, is a National Honor Society member with a weighted grade-point average of 4.13. He competed in track, cross country and volleyball at the junior varsity level before turning to writing with The Ridgefielder, his school’s online newspaper. Last summer he began writing features for the weekly Ridgefield Press, which earned him selection as the Press’s regular reporter for Ridgefield football, basketball and lacrosse teams.

His scholarship entry included a feature story on a one-time youth sports star who overcame addiction with the help of an obstacle course racing program.

Clouse’s extracurricular activities include the presidency of Ridgefield SafeRides, a safe and reliable service within the Ridgefield community by providing free rides to intoxicated students and/or to students who are rendered incapable of transportation due to other circumstances. He is the son of Joseph and Alexandra Clouse of Ridgefield.