By Derek Spellman
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Amelia Warstler never imagined she would end up where she did Friday morning.
That is, seated behind the wheel of a new Kia Rio LX with a large crowd of Joplin High School students gathered around her. Warstler, 18, won the car Friday, culminating a year of achievement both in the classroom and out.
“I was so nervous,” Warstler said. “I’ve never been more nervous in my life.”
The car itself was provided by Roper Kia through a program developed with the high school. Seniors who met certain criteria — good grades, excellent attendance, good behavior, involvement in activities and community service — this past year were eligible to win.
“This criteria was pretty darn stiff,” said Jack Frost, owner/dealer with Roper Kia, while addressing the crowd Friday.
Frost said afterward that Roper Kia had approached the school district about the car giveaway before the start of this school year. That effort would go “hand-in-hand” with some of the measures already under way, such as Graduation Matters, aimed at encouraging students to perform well academically and graduate.
A total of almost 40 Joplin High School students qualified.
That list was narrowed to 11 students who were actually given a chance to win the car. The 11 lined up Friday morning and one-by-one selected a car key — one of which would actually open the car. Classmates and school officials watched as the finalists tried.
Kerry Sachetta, principal of Joplin High School, said students had to meet all five criteria for a chance to win the car. The criteria, which included activities and community service, reflected beliefs that developing the student as a whole is linked with better performance in the classroom.
“It’s a whole student that does better in general,” he said after the car giveaway.
Warstler, for example, is active in her church as well as in plays, choir and orchestra at Joplin High School.
Warstler said she will be attending Missouri Southern State University after graduation. She will be majoring in music education.
Her parents also were on hand Friday.
Asked if Amelia Warstler already had a car, her father, Jeff Warstler said she did.
“She has one with almost 200,000 miles on it,” Jeff Warstler said, characterizing it as a vehicle that has been in the family for a while. “Her brother is going to inherit that one, maybe.”
