OKLAHOMA CITY – In one of the largest Oklahoma Hall of Fame scholarship classes of recent years, 132 high school students were awarded more than $164,000 in the Oklahoma Scholarship Competition, up 71 percent from last year. These funds go to students who have scored well on the annual state history test and who plan to go to college in-state.

“These scholarships keep talented students in Oklahoma and give them a window into the incredible opportunities to learn close to home, and above all, make college affordable,” said Shannon L. Rich, president & CEO of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. “This generation of students wants to get an education, but is wary of going in to debt for it.”

The online Oklahoma history examination was administered to 386 high school students in almost every county. Creek County’s Oilton High School in Oilton, Okla., with a school population of 84, earned 11 scholarships, making it the school with the most scholarship recipients.

“This a real opportunity for these kids,” said Ryan Moore, who called himself Oilton High School’s “history department” where he teaches Oklahoma history among other classes. Moore drove the bus to the awards assembly last week and encouraged his students to explore the potential of attending college. “There’s a lot of firsts here.”

Mirroring a nationwide trend, college enrollments have been declining in Oklahoma where just 37 percent of public school students attend college within a year of graduating. However, college enrollments are up this year.

“Despite the enrollment decline over the last 10 years, annual degree and certificate production at Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities increased 8.1 percent during that time period. Additionally, fall 2022 preliminary enrollment figures for first-time entering freshmen at our public colleges and universities show an enrollment increase of  3 percent over fall 2021,” said Angela Caddell, spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Many of the students described the test as “incredibly hard.” The challenge of learning benefits everyone. “Studying history gives us a fuller understanding of our past so that we can better face the future,” said Gini Moore Campbell, Vice President of  the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.