CLEVELAND (WJW) – The second winners of Ohio’s Vax-2-School scholarships were announced Tuesday. Several winners were from Northeast Ohio.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I’m definitely going to put my name in. I never win anything, I’ll give it a shot,” said 24-year- old Christina Kinkelaar, of Westlake.

That shot paid off big for Kinkelaar, who is going for her reading endorsement at Bowling Green University in January.

“The endorsement goes toward your master’s. I was like, ‘how am I going to pay for this?’ Then I got the email that said, ‘you won $10,000,” said Kinkelaar.

At first, Kinkelaar didn’t think it was real, but it was. Kinkelaar was one of 30 people who won a $10,000
scholarship to be used at an Ohio university, college or trade school in the Ohio Vax-2-School drawing Tuesday.

“Oh my gosh, I don’t have to pay for my reading endorsement out of pocket. I don’t have to do any loans or that fun stuff,” said Kinkelaar.

Students from Westlake, Beachwood, Lorain, Avon Lake, Kirtland, Wadsworth and North Royalton took home the prize in the second round.

“Now that I don’t have to pay for my reading endorsement, maybe I’ll move out of my parent’s house,” said Kinkelaar.

Kinkelaar graduated from Cleveland State this past May and is pursuing her master’s in education. She said she got vaccinated last year when she started student teaching.

“It was an awesome bonus. I didn’t need to sign up, but I felt like, hey, why not? We’ll see what happens. So, if you are on the fence about getting the shot and need an incentive, definitely sign up,” said Kinkelaar.