Sturgis Area Community Foundation awards $149K in scholarships

Staff report
·5 min read
Sturgis High School seniors Matthew Toner, Tina Tran and Katie Strawser receive 2022 Robert and Barbara Hackman Memorial Scholarships.
Sturgis High School seniors Matthew Toner, Tina Tran and Katie Strawser receive 2022 Robert and Barbara Hackman Memorial Scholarships.
Sturgis High School senior Nancy Montoya stands with Harley Pierce Jr., after being awarded the Harley and Eva Pierce Memorial Scholarship.
Sturgis High School senior Nancy Montoya stands with Harley Pierce Jr., after being awarded the Harley and Eva Pierce Memorial Scholarship.
Pete and Tina Stemen pose with Collin Claar and Angel Gomez, the 2022 recipients of the Austin Stemen Scholarship for the Trades.
Pete and Tina Stemen pose with Collin Claar and Angel Gomez, the 2022 recipients of the Austin Stemen Scholarship for the Trades.

Sturgis Area Community Foundation honored its 2022 scholarship recipients Sunday with a luncheon at Sturges-Young Center for the Arts.

In attendance were nearly 150 guests from around St. Joseph County, including scholarship fund donors, recipients and their families. In total, the Sturgis Area Community Foundation awarded $149,000 in educational scholarships.

"This year, the Community Foundation received more scholarship applications than ever before," said Lindsay Richardson, executive director. "It was an extremely competitive year and we are grateful to play a part in helping so many talented local students achieve their educational and career goals."

Together, Sturgis Area Community Foundation and its affiliate the Constantine Area Community Foundation hold more than 50 permanently endowed scholarship funds. Since 1999, these funds have returned more than $1.2 million to local students through SACF's scholarship program.

"What is truly amazing about our scholarship program is that it provides support for students pursuing just about any type of program after high school. There are scholarships for students pursuing two- and four-year traditional colleges and universities, graduate school, and skilled trades programs," Richardson said.

Applications for Community Foundation scholarships open online in December and are due by March 1. Submitted applications are reviewed by independent committees that evaluate applicants based on a variety of criteria including, but not limited to, academic merit, financial need, community service, work history and career plans. Scholarship opportunities are open to students graduating from all high schools in St. Joseph County and Bronson High School in Branch County.

2022 Scholarship award recipients:

  • Collin Claar, Austin Stemen Scholarship for the Trades

  • Angel Gomez, Austin Stemen Scholarship for the Trades

  • Cecilia Lopez-Nieves, Bill Shinn & Julia Shinn Mingus Scholarship Fund

  • Nikki Prichard, Bill Shinn & Julia Shinn Mingus Scholarship Fund

  • Cristian Luna, Gonzalez Budd and Helen Munson Scholarship Fund in memory of Michael P. Munson

  • Megan McNamara Carlson, Constantine Education Fund

  • Katelyn Strawser, Charles A. Sturges Scholarship Fund

  • Madelyn Cullifer, Constantine School Endowment Fund

  • Kennedy Wolf, Constantine School Endowment Fund

  • Emilee Miller, Constantine School Endowment Fund in honor of Joelen Zimont

  • Bo Geibe, Constantine School Endowment Fund in memory of Edward and Dorothy Stears

  • Cristian Garcia-Montoya Cornelius, John Geimer Scholarship Fund

  • Brandy Hibbert, Dave Locey Kiwanis Club of Sturgis Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Ben Kinder, Deloris Schenk Scholarship Fund

  • Lindsey Miller, Deloris Schenk Scholarship Fund

  • Ashley Garcia, Dr. Aurora F. DeCastro Scholarship Fund

  • Seth Falkenstein, Elizabeth Peckham Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Seth Falkenstein, Ellen Eisele Memorial Fund

  • Allison Littlefield, Evelyn H. Schwenk & Florence M. Schwenk Scholarship Fund

  • Amy Chen, Frank & Ethel Kime Bogen Scholarship Fund

  • Allison Littlefield, Frank & Ethel Kime Bogen Scholarship Fund

  • Nancy Montoya, Frank & Ethel Kime Bogen Scholarship Fund

  • Brianna Wheeler, Frank & Ethel Kime Bogen Scholarship Fund

  • Matthew Toner, Hackman Family Trinity Lutheran School Scholarship Fund

  • Nancy Montoya, Harley and Eva Pierce Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Madison Pueschel, Harold and Catherine Young Scholarship Fund

  • McKenzie Pieronski, Howard and Dorothy Kendrick Scholarship Fund in memory of Rebecca Hooley

  • Makenna Buckta, Jack Deller Scholarship Fund

  • Kailey Orton, Jack Deller Scholarship Fund

  • Brenda Aquino, James and Jeannie Gerchow Fund Scholarship

  • Brendan Bundy, James and Jeannie Gerchow Fund Scholarship

  • Andrew Littlefield, James and Jeannie Gerchow Fund Scholarship

  • Amy Chen, Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Cristian Correa, Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Kimberly Duran, Montoya Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Hayley Miller, Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Alejandro Nieves, Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Morgan Pueschel, Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Ariana Valdez, Jane and Wesley Hubbard Scholarship Fund

  • Annabella Bressler, Jean and Colleen Yunker Scholarship Fund

  • Ariana Valdez, Jean and Colleen Yunker Scholarship

  • Ben Kinder, Jessie S. Schaeffer Memorial Scholarship

  • Paige Pattison, John E. Brand Memorial Scholarship

  • Kaitlyn Markus, Lillian M. Anway Scholarship

  • Nikki Prichard, Lillian M. Anway Scholarship

  • Laci Gottschalk, Lucy A. Gallup Memorial Scholarship

  • Brandy Hibbert, Lucy A. Gallup Memorial Scholarship

  • Emily Mead, Lucy A. Gallup Memorial Scholarship

  • Emily Matz, Margaret "Peg" Cherrington Memorial Scholarship

  • Nicolette Nelson, Margaret Adams Scholarship

  • Nathaniel Sisson, Olin Lepard/Robert Lewis Memorial Fund

  • Chloe Behrends, Pythian Sisters Pocahontas Temple Number 121 Scholarship

  • Alexander Stoll, Pythian Sisters Pocahontas Temple Number 121 Scholarship

  • Kimberly Duran, Montoya Ralph and Marie McCarthy Memorial Scholarship

  • Rylie Mille,r Robert and Barbara Hackman Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Katelyn Strawser, Robert and Barbara Hackman Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Matthew Toner, Robert and Barbara Hackman Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Tina Tran, Robert and Barbara Hackman Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Ashley Garcia, SACF Scholarship in honor of the Sturgis Junior Womens League

  • Syanna Hoehner, SACF Scholarship in memory of Albert and Ines Pennell

  • Kylie Sterner, SACF Scholarship in memory of Albert and Ines Pennell

  • Haylie Bowers, SACF Scholarship in memory of Carla Rae Humphries

  • Cheyenne Campbell, SACF Scholarship in memory of Carla Rae Humphries

  • Hannah Massey, SACF Scholarship in memory of Carla Rae Humphries

  • Vianey Cardiel, SACF Scholarship in memory of Eli and Helen Shaheen

  • Alexis DeVries, SACF Scholarship in memory of Eli and Helen Shaheen

  • Yarely Gonzalez, SACF Scholarship in memory of Eli and Helen Shaheen

  • Madison Pueschel, SACF Scholarship in memory of Helen Augspurger

  • Derek Garmire, SACF Scholarship in memory of Herman and Anna Rice

  • Moran Swanwick, SACF Scholarship in memory of Herman and Anna Rice

  • Claudia Reyes, SACF Scholarship in memory of Laura Schaeffer Bucknell

  • Cynthia Gutierrez, SACF Scholarship in memory of Ruth Butz

  • Katya Gutierrez, SACF Scholarship in memory of Ruth Butz

  • Luzandra Trujillo-Estrada, SACF Scholarship in memory of Ruth Butz

  • Eathan Klar, Susan Poffenberger Memorial Scholarship Fund

  • Lilly Shudell, The Daisy and Graydon B. Allabach Scholarship

  • Jacqueline Correa Cortez, Theodore R. and Rita A. Combs Scholarship

  • Autumn Herlein, Virginia Langworthy Wyman Math Scholarship

  • Cristian Correa, YAC Scholars Award.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Education