Hamilton Township’s Business Development Advisory Commission wants to help local high school students embark on a successful college career.
And if the students that the commission helps end up returning to Hamilton to become part of the township business community, so much the better.
To that end, the commission offers $4,000 in college scholarships each year, designating one award of $1,000 for a graduating senior from each of the township’s four high schools.
Applicants are invited to submit essays on a theme chosen by the commission’s scholarship committee. This year’s theme is Balancing Growth and Green Space.
Once all applications and essays are received and the deadline has passed, committee members decide which students have made the most convincing arguments in addressing the theme.
One college-bound student from each high school — Hamilton High West, Nottingham High School, Steinert High School, and Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy — is then selected to receive one of the awards.
“(Commission member) Tom Julian came up with the idea,” said commission member and scholarship chair David Walsh. “Green spaces, parks, trails and natural areas are essential to making a community viable. At the same time, the town needs economic growth to survive. So the question is, how do we balance all of that?”
HTEDAC exists to advise the township on business development opportunities that the township might want to pursue. While not a formal regulatory body, the commission’s members can often be seen at grand openings and ribbon cuttings throughout the township, showing their support for new or relocated businesses that have chosen to make a home in town. Chris Cline currently serves as chair of the 16-member commission.
“My favorite part of receiving all the applications and reading all of the essays is because I do really like to hear the creativity that comes out of the students,” Walsh said. “I think every year we are really pleased with all of the submissions.”
Last year, the committee received 24 submissions — the most since it initiated the scholarship program. Walsh said he hopes to raise awareness of the program with the aim of increasing participation even more.
“The entrants are really thoughtful about how they can help make the town better,” Julian said. “I think we’re going to see (in the submissions) that kids want to see new development in town, but they want to retain the overall character of the town as well.”
Once winners are selected, they are invited to a reception at which they receive the awards and meet members of the commission along with Mayor Jeff Martin. Applications are due to be submitted by April 3, with the awards ceremony scheduled for May 20.
High school seniors who are interested can get applications at their high school guidance offices.
Walsh said that he joined HTEDAC because he saw it as a good way to give back to his community.
“I’m raising my family in the community and I want to do what I can do to make Hamilton more attractive for businesses, make it a better place to live,” he said. “Something like the scholarship is great because you’re helping kids in the area get some extra funding for college and at the same time encouraging them to think about economic development in Hamilton with the goal of making the community a better place to live.”
Julian expressed a similar sentiment. “I wanted to do something that would be interesting, to give back to my hometown and also to have an experience that was outside of my normal day-to-day,” he said. “I joined the commission four years ago and I have really enjoyed taking part in it since.
“You have to have pride in the town to want to do something like this. I see it as part of my happiness and pride in being from Hamilton and moving back here after having kids.”
Hamilton Township Economic Development Advisory Commission 2025 scholarship winner Catalina Holliday, center, with Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin (second from left) and HTEDAC members Lori Danko, David Walsh and Tom Julian.,
