Western Kansas Community Foundation (WKCF) is awarding 70 scholarships from 17 different funds totaling $133,560 for the 2024/2025 school year, with more awards to be determined throughout the summer. The awards will be distributed from various scholarship funds administered by the Foundation.
WKCF scholarships are generally awarded once per year in May; in addition, the Foundation makes distributions from various other funds for the purpose of providing scholarships.
This year, a total of $47,204.37 will go directly to the Garden City Community College Endowment Association for the purpose of providing scholarships.
These distributions are made from the Mildred Henselman Fund ($23,814.37), the Erdene Corley Scholarship Fund ($8,420), the Henry & Nellie Hall Fund ($12,600), and the Otis & Mary Lee Molz Fund for Kearny County ($2,370).
“The Western Kansas Community Foundation has been entrusted to honor the memory of many cherished individuals through the administration of scholarships, which allows the Foundation to invest directly into the potential of individuals,” said Stacie Hahn, WKCF’s Program & Marketing Director. “In a time where education and training are becoming increasingly essential to unlock workforce opportunities, the Foundation is empowering dreams by fostering educational opportunities that will benefit the entire community.”
While several scholarships held at the WKCF are handled by educational institutions based on guidelines left by the donors, others are directly reviewed by the Foundation’s own Scholarship Committee. Of these, the following awards have been made this year:
1. Anna & May Rosel Scholarship (for students who will or have already graduated from Ulysess High School) – $2,850 each to Addison Mathes, Arabella Ashby, Baylor Deyoe, Becca Wendt, Brittany Raines, Bryson Stejskal, C.J. Raines, Cami Kenny, Chase Phelps, Chloe Curl, Eli Mendoza, Elyzabeth Nunez, Emily Nunez, Evan Morales, Hayden Graber, Isaiah Gregory, Karen Montes-Liera, Kerlyn Enamorado, Keyleigh Velasquez, Lexi Hittle, Mia Wendt, Natalie Franco, Nixon Keeler, Sara Watson, Slater Heglin, Sydlin Loewen, and Tyson Flores
2. Anne Campbell Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates from Finney or Scott County, KS who wish to pursue a Nursing Degree) – $400 to Emma Wheeler (Scott City)
3. Bob Krug Memorial Scholarship (for students who will or have already graduated from a Finney County high school who have played on the high school Tennis team) – $650 to Carson Kraus (Garden City High School)
4. Charles Helfrich Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates of any Gray County high school) – $1,000 to Layton Simon (Ingalls High School)
5. Chase Mitchel Webber Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates of Sublette High School) – $1,000 to Braxon Blackwood
6. D & L Hewes Scholarship (for senior graduates of any Gray County high school) – $1,000 each to Jacelyn Huelskamp (South Gray High School), Kami Whipple (Ingalls High School), Veronica Greene (Cimarron High School)
7. Duane Nichols Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates of Holcomb High School) – $500 to Ryland Wallace
8. Garret Doll Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates of Garden City High School who participated in athletics) – $500 to Carson Kraus
9. Jan McLeland Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates of Satanta High School) – $450 to Abbilyn Boese
10. Katherine C. Jones Scholarship (for senior graduates of Holcomb High School) – $1,130 to Kendall Brungardt
11. Katherine C. Jones Continuing Ed Scholarship (for former graduates of Holcomb High School who have completed at least their freshman year of college) – $490 each to Morgan Hammond and Kaden Johnson.
12. Kline Scholarship (for graduates of Finney, Grant, Gray, Haskell, Kearny, or Scott County High Schools who will be a Junior, Senior, or Post-Graduate student pursuing an Agriculture, Mathematics, or Science degree) – $1,650 each to Cole Lehman (Garden City) and Luke Janzen (Cimarron)
13. Mallory Worf Hernandez Memorial Scholarship (for students who will or have already graduated from Garden City High School) – $1,500 to Mauro Lara, and $500 to Iliana Valencia
14. Norbert Kevin Irsik Memorial Scholarship (for employees, children, or spouses of employees of Irsik & Doll companies in Kansas) – $1,250 each to Ciera Depenbusch (Great Bend), Claire Rumford (Scott City), Crystal Casas (Garden City), Crystal Reyes (Garden City), Estephania Anaya-Lopez (Cimarron), Kiera Buchholz (Cimarron), Luke Janzen (Cimarron), Ximena Soltero (Garden City)
15. O’Brate Family Scholarship for Ingalls (for senior graduates of Ingalls High School) – $2,000 each to Nayeli Andazola-Marquez, Mikol Cohn, Tessa Irsik, Mitchell Lehman, Jaikub Maestas, Malachi Meador, Myron Miller, Estaban Porras, Anna Schmeeckle, Layton Simon, Avery Strecker, Elly Tancayo, Meggie Tate, Juan Varela, Kami Whipple.
16. Ron Peek Memorial Scholarship (for graduates of Finney, Haskell, Kearny, or Scott County high schools in Kansas, who are the children of an employee of either Finney County Police Department, Finney County Sheriff Department, Finney County Fire Department, Finney County EMS, or State Troopers residing in Finney County) – $1,000 to Caylee Good (Satanta)
17. Tanner Dean Born Memorial Scholarship (for senior graduates of Holcomb High School) – $400 to Kooper Tichenor, and $300 to Kendall Brungardt
Staff of Western Kansas Community Foundation always welcomes visiting with donors or those interested in contributing to an existing scholarship fund.
The next scholarship deadline is May 1, 2025. To learn more about the application process visit the WKCF website at www.wkcf.org, call at 620-271-9484 or stop by the office at 402 N. Main Street in downtown Garden City.
