Not every teenager is going to attend a four-year college or university after receiving their high school diploma.

For some bright-eyed 18-year-olds, the path to future financial security and independence includes a vocational career, trade school, community college or apprenticeship.

To help them achieve their dreams, Royal Roofing Company, based in Orion Township, has created two scholarships, a minimum of $1,000 each, for graduating Oxford High School seniors.

Applicants must have a grade point average of at least 2.0, submit one letter of recommendation from a teacher and answer three questions that together paint a picture of themselves and their future goals.

Owner Dan Davis, of Addison Township, created this program because “the four-year college kids seem to have more access to scholarships than these kids do” and he wanted to do something to help prepare them for the future.

“Some kids don’t have the desire to go to a regular college,” he said. “Some kids want to learn a vocation.”

Oxford Township Trustee Jack Curtis helped Davis put this scholarship program together and connected him with the right people at the school district to make it happen.

“I listen to every trade in this town. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, HVAC – they’re all screaming for help,” he said. “They’re all screaming for knowledgable kids that can come in and use tools, and none of them are getting that education.”

Curtis said local manufacturing companies are also having trouble finding the workers they need.

“These guys put help-wanted billboards up on M-24,” he said. “They can’t find skilled people to come in. And by skilled people, I don’t mean college graduates. I mean people with vocational educations. Kids that can do math involving decimals and fractions, and use tools to make things.”

Included with the Royal Roofing Company scholarship is a paying job for the summer months immediately following graduation.

“Some of these kids can’t find jobs (for) the summer,” Davis said.

The recipients would not be working on roofs, according to Davis. Instead, they would be doing yardwork around the Royal Roofing property, located at 2445 Brown Rd., and on the property Davis owns at 3695 Lakeville Rd. in Addison. The latter is where Oxford/Orion FISH plants a community vegetable garden every year to help feed the area’s hungry.

“It’s an opportunity for the kids to make money,” Davis said. “And it’s a good opportunity for me to meet these kids. You’d be amazed how much you learn about a kid (by) working with them for a summer.”

Scholarship recipients will be required to spend one day (eight hours) a month over the summer doing volunteer work for a local charitable cause or nonprofit organization in Oxford.

“The kids learn to give back a little bit,” Davis said. “Maybe it will inspire them to give back more in the future.”

Oxford Superintendent Tim Throne said the Royal Roofing Company scholarship “is just another example of how generous and gracious people are in our community.”

“This scholarship will help our students be successful in the next leg of their educational journey, wherever that may lead them,” he said.

“Everybody thinks you need a college degree,” Curtis noted. “But there are a lot of kids today asking if you want french fries with that burger and they’ve got a four-year college degree.

“Higher education is good, but what’s needed in today’s society are hands-on kids that can do the job.”

Scholarship applications must be submitted by the Monday, May 8 deadline.

For more information, please contact the OHS counseling office at (248) 969-5100 ext. 5151 or 5150.