For much of our history, the Council has awarded scholarships to incoming and continuing postsecondary students to support their ongoing educational pursuits. For the 2022-23 academic year, we awarded $2,000 scholarships to eight budding scholars. Each student submitted essays about their lives and how a scholarship would help propel them toward their career goals.
The scholarship selection team, consisting of board members, Council staff and community volunteers, also looked at community involvement, examples of perseverance, and the quality of the written essays in making their selections.
We’re pleased to announce this year’s group of scholarship recipients. Congratulations to these eight individuals:
Saree Behm is a Janesville resident who attends UW-Whitewater. Her goal is to become an early childhood education/special education teacher.
Grace Caine from Lowell also attends UW-Whitewater. Grace plans to become a music educator.
Jada Clark of Omro will begin studies at UW-Oshkosh this fall, intending to focus on history.
Lewa Diarra of Madison is enrolled at the University of Minnesota and plans to study psychology.
Lindsey Fritz of Madison, a nursing student at Madison College, hopes to transfer to UW-Madison to pursue a bachelor’s degree in her chosen field.
Kaylee Mueller of Campbellsport attends UW-Green Bay, majoring in psychology.
Nathan Schmitt of Franklin will attend Milwaukee Area Technical College, expecting to major in computer science.
George Tuttle of Drummond attends Carroll University, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business, specializing in healthcare administration.
“We’re grateful to be able to award these academic scholarships,” says Executive Director Denise Jess. “Students with vision loss face daunting barriers in education and employment. Scholarships are a powerful tool for overcoming some of those barriers.”
The students were honored in a virtual ceremony on Thursday, June 2. You can view the recorded program on our YouTube channel at WCBlind.org/scholarship-live.