LAKE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – The graduating seniors of Lake County High School in Leadville got some very good news on graduation day.

Like most teens, these teens have big dreams but worry about how to fund those dreams.

On Thursday, every single graduating senior learned they will receive a scholarship.

Scholarships can be hard to come by, but on the stage in front of their friends and family, these seniors found out that all of them would be getting at least one this year.

Former Colorado Sen. Ken Chlober’s organization, the Leadville Trail 100 Legacy Foundation, is responsible for handing out the scholarships.

“There are 55 graduates today and every one of them we are going to give a $1,000 and every one of them is going to some form of higher education. That’s an opportunity they wouldn’t have had,” he said.

Chlober said the scholarships handed out are an investment in the future.

“Go do more, be more, and then come back. Come back to where you got your start, make it a bigger, better Leadville, that is what I am investing in,” he said.

And Chlober had another surprise for the senior class. He made a deal with them: if they go to school at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, his foundation will pay the tuition for an associate’s degree.

“I just think it’s really cool that they are willing to do that, to share with the community and encourage us all to achieve our educational goals,” said Fatima Lizardo, one of three of the 55 graduates who spoke to CBS4 on Thursday.