March 8 marked three years since North Oldham High School junior Jake Stover’s body was found in the Ohio River. The family chose to mark the difficult day with announcing that they were expanding the Jake Stover “Just One More” Memorial Scholarship.
Stover went missing Jan. 10, 2021. His family said he went to Cox Park along River Road in Louisville that day to go kayaking alone on the Ohio River. His kayak was found near the Falls of the Ohio State Park on Jan. 12. For two months his family waited for news as various groups searched for him. His body was recovered from the Ohio River near Newburgh, Indiana on March 8, 2021.
On the website set up for the scholarship, Jake’s family shares why they started the scholarship in his memory, “Jake had a passion for life. From a young age, he showed a great love for the outdoors and art. As he got older, it seemed he was always trying to find a way to turn these passions into a lifestyle.”
In his grade school years, they said, Jake excelled at sketching, painting and photography, and at the age of 12, turned his creative talents into his own custom sneaker and restorations business. For the business, Stovetop Customs, Jake created a website, social media presence and traveled to sneaker shows to display and sell his creations.
Jake’s family said when he wasn’t creating something, he often spent his time outdoors with fishing and snow skiing being his favorite. Jake was a member of the North Oldham bass fishing team and had hoped to carry this skill into his college career.
His family wanted to leave behind a legacy for Jake by supporting his peers and helping them achieve their educational and career goals. They said their son had an attitude and philosophy of “just one more” and would apply it to everything he did. “Just one more sight to see, just one more run down the ski slopes or just one more cast into the pond. He wanted to squeeze every second he could out of life. We are looking for students who share this same kind of determination and passion for life.”
“We have always planned to expand the reach of the scholarship as a small way of saying thank you to the entire Kentuckiana community who provided such amazing help and support and love in the early days of the search for Jake and every day since. We hope adding three additional counties will provide the opportunity for many more students to share their stories with us and apply for the award,” said his family in a Facebook post.
Applications for the annual $2,500 scholarship will now be accepted for all high school senior students in Oldham and Jefferson Counties in Kentucky as well as Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana who share in Jake’s diversity of passions in conservation/outdoors, art, or entrepreneurship/business may apply for this scholarship.
Applications are being accepted now for this year. To apply, express your creativity by submitting videos and/or photos of your favorite outdoor experience, artwork or entrepreneurial endeavor, along with a write-up explaining why it is important to you. The deadline to submit applications is May 20. The winner will be announced on June 20. To apply, or make a donation towards the scholarship fund, visit bold.org/scholarships/jake-stover-just-one-more-memorial-scholarship.