Nebraska State College System and Gov. Heineman recognize scholarship recipients

A Board of Trustee Scholarship provides full tuition for recipients and is worth nearly $17,000 over four years.

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 provide half tuition and, like the BOT Scholarships, are renewable for four years.

The keynote speaker for the luncheon was Governor Dave Heineman. Married to First Lady Sally Ganem, a 30-year elementary school principal, Heineman has made education a cornerstone of his record 10-year term as governor.

“I want to applaud the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees for thinking innovatively about ways to boost enrollment and to increase Nebraska’s college-going rate by expanding scholarship opportunities for students,” Heineman said.

“We want to ensure that more Nebraska students attend Nebraska colleges. Ensuring that every high school graduate in Nebraska goes to college is critical to our continued success as a state. Our task is to prepare our sons and daughters to compete in a knowledge-based, technology-driven, global, free-market economy,” he said.

When discussing the value of education, Heineman recognized the state colleges for their educational and economic contributions to Nebraskans. He encouraged the scholarship recipients to make the most of their education and acknowledged Nebraska as a place for hard working Nebraskans to enjoy “The Good Life.” 

Heineman was joined at the podium by John Freudenberg who served as the alumni speaker. Freudenberg, a former Chadron BOT recipient, is currently the criminal bureau chief in the Nebraska attorney general’s office.

With 170 people in attendance at the luncheon, Freudenberg spoke of alumni from all three colleges who have gone on to do great things, including: Chadron State’s Dr. Val Fitch who won the Nobel Prize in Physics, Sheila Dormann who became the first female Vice President at Cabela’s and Danny Woodhead and Don Beebe for their successful NFL careers.

NSCS Chancellor Stan Carpenter served as the emcee of the luncheon and introduced the following prominent guests in attendance: Senator Jerry Johnson representing District 23, and his wife, Arlene; Senator Al Davis, representing District 43, and his wife, Dottie; BOT board members Cap Peterson of Wayne, Neb., John Chaney of Auburn, Neb., Matt Blomstedt, Nebraska Commissioner of Education, and Bill Beavers and Scott Keene with Ameritas.

Following introductions, Carpenter told the audience, “The state colleges are colleges of access and opportunity. We provide safe and caring learning environments. We are large enough to offer a wide variety of programs and degrees, yet we are small enough that our faculty and staff will know your name.” He then reminded the students that he knows of faculty who will search them out if they don’t show up for class.

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 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.

Chadron State College recipient of the Governor's Opportunity Award

Scottsbluff: Kayla Pierce             

Chadron State College recipients of the NSCS Board of Trustees Scholarships

Ainsworth: QuentinWagner

Alliance: Megan Buskirk, Hannah Miller

Atkinson: Jessica Thiele

Battle Creek: Colton Welke

Benkelman: Tate Jensen

Bertrand: Savannah High

Chadron: Miles Chasek, Tatum Westemeier

Chambers: Leanne DeKay

Cody: Shannon Schneider

Columbus: Melissa VanDerslice

Curtis: Regan Garey

Elkhorn: Emily Heimann

Ellsworth: Sierra Bixby

Gering: Justin Brester, Christian Groskopf, Courtney Larson, Bo McVay

Gordon: Jessica Hurd, Elspeth Moon

Grant: Justin Briggs

Hampton: Rachel Dowling

Harrison: John Murphy

Hay Springs: Jordan Houser

Hebron: Madison Reece

Hemingford: Trevor Benge

Kimball: Matthew Heng-Martin

Lincoln: Jeremy Sousek

Merriman: George Shadbolt

Mitchell: Stephanie Alfred, Tate Harvey, Morgan Michael, Justin Schwartzkopf

Morrill: Amanda Kaufman

Norfolk: Kyle Temple

North Platte: Colton Hall

Ogallala: Brianna Wilson

Oshkosh: Chet Krajewski, Kelsey Vincent

Ravenna: Damian McAlevy

Scottsbluff: Nikita Anderson, Cole Beaver

Seward: Ashlyn Hanson

Sidney: Kylie Ellwanger, Natausha Holtz, Karson Langley

Valentine: Brianna Bussinger, Shaniya DeNaeyer

Whitman: Chelsea Nollette