BBB Serving Wisconsin Awards $25,000 in Scholarships to Wisconsin High School Seniors

Milwaukee, Wis. – Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serving Wisconsin has awarded ten Wisconsin high school seniors each a $2,500 scholarship as part of its annual statewide “Students of Integrity” Scholarship program. The winners’ names are listed in alphabetical order along with their high school and intended college.

Emily Anderson (Kaukauna High School; Marquette University), Elizabeth Bertram (New Holstein High School; UW-River Falls), Gorejer Her (Hmong American Peace Academy; UW-Madison), Jorge Jurado-Garcia (Beloit Memorial High School; UW-Platteville or MSOE), Josie McCarthy (Wauzeka-Steuben High School; Southwest Technical College), Leah Nyholm (Rufus King International High School; UW-Madison), Brittany Obbink (Cedar Grove-Belgium High School; UW-Green Bay Sheboygan Campus) Megan Pekula (Eau Claire North High School; UW-Eau Claire), Ishma Rizvi (Franklin High School; UW-Milwaukee), and Charlie Stockwell (Iola-Scandinavia High School; UW-Madison).

Recipients of the scholarship program are chosen primarily on their personal essay submissions and letters of reference. The personal essay prompts students to discuss an ethical dilemma they have faced and to describe how they dealt with that issue based on their understanding of integrity and ethics. This year’s scholarship winners discussed ethical dilemmas related to workplace ethics, family values, social injustices and personal commitments.

“The applicant pool this year was full of unique stories that not only discussed ethical dilemmas and integrity, but also gave the review committee an insight into the students’ personal stories. My favorite part of reviewing these scholarship applications is being able to get to know the student and their life experiences,” said Lindsay Barbeau of Marquette University, one of the scholarship judges. Scholarship recipients are chosen by an independent judging panel made up of college admissions counselors, community leaders and a past scholarship recipient.

“Our office received many extraordinary scholarship applications, making the judges’ work very difficult,” said Jim Temmer, CEO/president of the Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin. “We were all very inspired by the entrants, but the ten winners really stood out. We congratulate all the 2019 winners and look forward to seeing their future successes and achievements.”

Each year, BBB Serving Wisconsin awards ten scholarships for post-high school education at any Wisconsin-based accredited college beginning in the fall. Two of the ten scholarships are reserved for students who will be attending two-year colleges to help reflect Wisconsin’s manufacturing and trade economy, and to encourage students to pursue careers in this industry.

Since 2010, BBB has awarded a total of $180,000 in scholarships to Wisconsin high school seniors.

Funding for the 2019 BBB Students of Integrity Scholarship program is provided by the generous support of donors, including: UW-Whitewater’s College of Business & Economics, We Energies, Associated Bank, Baird, Catholic Financial Life, Dave Jones, Inc., Roger & Shirley Schroeder, and SVA. Scholarship recipients will be recognized at BBB Serving Wisconsin’s annual Torch Awards for Ethics Luncheon on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee. The Luncheon also honors winners of the 2019 Torch Awards for Ethics and Spark Awards for Entrepreneurship. Registration for the Torch Awards for Ethics Luncheon is available here.

For information on how to contribute to our scholarship fund, please click here or call 414-847-6068.

For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.