Editor’s note: the following story has been updated to reflect some late changes made in a spreadsheet used to track student awards as well as include an award recipient whose scholarship was shared with the school district and Fort Atkinson Online after the award ceremony was conducted.
By Chris Spangler
Fort Atkinson High School seniors were honored with nearly $800,000 in scholarships during the annual awards program Wednesday evening.
During the livestreamed event, graduates-to-be were presented $741,500 in scholarships, including $379,500 coming from local sources.
A large chunk of the local monies were given through the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation.
Executive Director Sue Hartwick noted that the foundation this year was awarding a total $361,000 in scholarships. Of that, $248,400 went to graduating seniors at Fort Atkinson High School Wednesday, while the remaining $112,600 will be going to former Fort Atkinson graduates or residents who are pursuing an education at the undergraduate, graduate or vocational-technical level.
“The foundation’s remarkable scholarship program exists because of all the kind and generous donors who have opened scholarship funds with us over the years,” said Dr. Mike Bender, chairperson of the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation Board of Directors.
“These donors knew the importance of education and they wanted to make sure our young people — our greatest asset — could take advantage of all the educational opportunities they earned,” he added. “Tonight we get to watch the students and their families feel the impact of that generosity. It’s a wonderful night.”
School officials noted that there might be additional scholarships earned by seniors, However, any non-local awards that were not reported to them prior to Wednesday’s program are not included in the total.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only honored seniors, presenters and school officials were in attendance. The full video may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBsQWcA_KNU.
Garnering $90,750 in scholarships was Sarah Mepham, daughter of Timm and Ginger Mepham.
She received an $80,000 Carroll University Voorhees Scholarship, a $2,000 Carroll University Hilger Tradition Award, a $250 Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation Scott W. Hulstein Scholarship, a $500 Fort Memorial Foundation General Scholarship for studying physical therapy, a $5,000 Stella Heth Memorial University Scholarship and a $3,000 Edward G. Wolff Scholarship.
Mepham plans to attend Carroll University in Waukesha, majoring in exercise science with a pre-physical therapy track.
Paige Huppert earned $76,750 in scholarships.
They include a $76,000 Carroll University Charles Carroll Scholarship and a $750 FFA Alumni Scholarship.
The daughter of Troy and Carol Huppert, she plans to study physical therapy at Carroll University.
Brooke Leibman earned $61,250 in scholarships.
They included a $12,000 scholarship from the Theodore W. Batterman Family Foundation, a $4,000 Francis F. Carnes Scholarship, a $250 Eagle Scout and Gold Award Recognition Scholarship, a $1,000 Girl Scouts 2021 Badgerland Envision Scholarship, a $500 Butch Hiscox Memorial Scholarship, a $39,500 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Lubar Scholarship and a $4,000 UW-Milwaukee Chancellor’s Merit Award.
The daughter of Joe and Nicole Leibman, she will be attending UW-Milwaukee to major in business administration.
Cameron Grady was presented $58,000 in scholarships.
The son of Troy and Linda Grady, he received a $56,000 Carroll University Pioneer Scholarship and a $2,000 Carroll University Hilger Tradition Award.
He plans to major in nursing at Carroll University.
Olivia Granec garnered $32,000 in scholarships.
They include a $9,000 Academic Excellence Award, a $21,000 Walter and Louise Buell Merit Scholarship and a $2,000 Fort Atkinson Community Credit Union Scholarship.
The daughter of Larry and Sally Granec, she will attend UW-Madison in the fall. She is undecided on her major, but plans to minor in music.
Madison Miles was presented $27,250 in scholarships.
The daughter of Brian and Amy Miles, she received a $750 American Legion Auxiliary Unit 166 Medical Scholarship, $24,000 Edgewood College Henry J. Predolin Scholarship and $2,500 Carol Jean Rowley Memorial Scholarship.
She plans to study nursing at Edgewood College in Madison in the fall.
Matthew Betanski earned $26,000 in scholarships.
They include a $9,000 Academic Excellence Award, an $8,000 Richard Noel Bingham Scholarship, a $6,000 Jerome Hake Engineering Scholarship, a $500 Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff’s Association Scholarship, a $1,000 Ed Karrels AP Computer Science Scholarship and a $1,500 UW-Platteville Merit Scholarship.
The son of Peter and Lora Betanski, he will be attending UW-Platteville in the fall to study cybersecurity.
Logan Hamele received $25,000 in scholarships.
They include a $21,000 Walter and Louise Buell Merit Scholarship and a $4,000 Francis F. Carnes Scholarship.
Hamele, the son of Nick and Christine Hamele, plans to take a gap year to participate in the National Security Language Initiative Program to learn Mandarin at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. After that, he likely will attend McGill University in Montreal, Canada, to major in international development studies.
Mary Ellen Moran was presented $19,400 in scholarships.
They include a $12,000 Theodore W. Batterman Family Foundation Scholarship, a $1,000 Dr. James Russell Athletic Scholarship and a $6,400 St. Joseph’s Catholic Church/Powers Scholarship.
The daughter of Patrick and Bethann Moran, she plans to attend UW-Platteville in the fall to study mechanical engineering.
Tyler Freeman was presented with $16,000 in scholarships. They include a $6,500 Richard Noel Bingham scholarship, a $6,000 Jerome Hake Engineering scholarship, a $1,000 Ed Karrels scholarship, and a $2,500 scholarship from the Wisconservation Club.
The son of Laura and Casey Freeman, he plans to attend UW-Platteville in the fall to study cyber security.
To view the full list of scholarship recipients: https://fortatkinsononline.com/senior-scholarship-award-recipients-2021/.
Update: Avery Hess has earned the Charles Carroll Scholarship from Carroll University totaling $76,000. She also has earned a $2,000 Hilger Tradition Award.
The daughter of Paula and Joe Hess, she plans to attend Carroll University in the fall to study graphic design.
Note: More photos from the evening’s event will be posted in a separate story.
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