Nebraska State College System luncheon honors scholarship recipients

The three NSCS campuses recently awarded over 100 Board of Trustee Scholarships to graduating high school seniors. A Board of Trustee scholarship provides full tuition for recipients and is worth nearly $17,000 over four years.

The keynote speaker for the luncheon was NSCS Chancellor Stan Carpenter, who has led the NSCS for the last 13 years. Carpenter was general counsel and director of employee relations for the Vermont State Colleges for 18 years prior to taking the lead position of the NSCS. He practiced law in Cincinnati, Ohio, after a successful career as a high school teacher.

In discussing the value of education, Carpenter challenged scholarship recipients to make the most of their education, and he said, “Make education worth the effort.  Earning a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree or a Ph. D. or an M.D. or a law degree is but a symbol of the knowledge you have obtained to that point. Your learning never stops.”

Chancellor Carpenter was joined at the podium by John Freudenberg, Samantha Goodrich and Jennifer Laflan. Freudenberg, a former Chadron State BOT recipient, is currently the criminal bureau chief in the Nebraska attorney general’s office.  Goodrich, a former Peru State BOT recipient, is currently working in the human resource department of Sandhills Publishing. Laflan, a current Wayne BOT recipient, is majoring in chemistry health science at Wayne with plans for a career in medicine.

The Board of Trustees Scholarship recipients are Nebraska residents who have earned a score of 25 or higher on the ACT or a score of 1700 on the SAT college entrance exams. The recipients also provide written recommendation letters from high school teachers or administrators.

The NSCS also awarded the Governor’s Opportunity Award to three recipients, one each at Chadron, Peru and Wayne State Colleges, member institutions of the NSCS. The Governor’s Opportunity Awards provides half of the college tuition costs and, like the BOT Scholarships, are renewable for four years.

The Governor’s Opportunity Award recipients must have an ACT score between 21 and 24 or a score ranging from 1500 to 1650 on the SAT exam.  The recipients also provide a written essay focusing on future contributions to their local community and the state of Nebraska.