Newtown High School’s College Application Prep (CAP) Club has recently announced its Behind the Scenes Scholarship that will award $1,000 to one graduating Newtown High School student.

Students interested in applying must be a part of NHS’s graduating class of 2025 and have demonstrated community involvement in a way that is minimally, or not at all, affiliated with NHS.

To be considered, candidates should: submit a resume including but not limited to out-of-school extracurricular activities, jobs, initiatives, and responsibilities, and answer one of the two prompts listed on the application. The resume and prompt response should be written electronically, attached to the application, and submitted to NHS Career Center Coordinator Brandy Jacobs in the Career Center.

The deadline for submitting applications is no later than end of day on Friday, May 9.

The Behind the Scenes Scholarship is a long time coming for the NHS CAP Club, according to NHS junior and CAP Club President Claire DiNoto. She said the goal of the Behind the Scenes Scholarship is to award someone for their efforts towards their family or community outside of school, but does not typically receive recognition — hence the name. DiNoto also emphasized that GPA will not be considered at all for the scholarship. While DiNoto felt there were a lot of scholarships or awards recognizing in-school excellence, she said they “didn’t really have something for an outside of school activity.”

“So the most meaningful part of all of this for me is that I’m hoping to recognize someone that contributes something to the community or their family,” DiNoto said.

This is personal for DiNoto since her mom came to Connecticut all the way from Cambodia; instead of having the money for sports or other extracurriculars, DiNoto’s mother had to work very hard to support her family — especially her siblings — while in school.

Students who focus on out-of-school endeavors or activities might not get recognition from scholarships rewarding academic excellence, but are still going to college. DiNoto said she wanted the scholarship as a way to encourage them to embrace both of those goals. As a student herself, DiNoto said she saw many of her peers try to participate in a bunch of honor societies or extracurriculars at the same time because they felt like they needed to or it’d look good on an application.

“I feel like a lot people believe there’s one defined track in high school that makes you a great [college] applicant ... but I think it’s really about embracing what you want to do, not just what you think that the school will love to see,” DiNoto explained.

The NHS CAP Club did many different fundraisers throughout the year, such as bake sales and raffles, to help get the scholarship off the ground. DiNoto said they also raised money for the scholarship by working with small local business like Villarina’s Pasta Shop and Sentimenti in an effort called Hearts of Newtown. The club collected items or gift cards from these businesses, put them into a basket, and raffled it off to make money while highlighting central businesses in town.

DiNoto said she is looking into holding the Behind the Scenes Scholarship again next year. Even after she graduates high school, DiNoto hopes to have someone continue fundraising and awarding the scholarship. She said the other members of the NHS CAP Club are just as excited about the scholarship and to keep it going in the future.

“I’m definitely hoping to keep it going,” DiNoto said. “I just really like that we’ve stuck to our mission.”

For more information or to apply for the Behind the Scenes Scholarship, email capclub35@gmail.com. To learn more about the Newtown High School College Application Prep Club, follow the club’s Instagram @nhscapclub.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.