COOK FAMILY FOUNDATION STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP NOMINEES EXPLORE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

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Thirty-eight of the most academically accomplished high school seniors from all ten high schools in the Shiawassee County area recently made a trip to Ann Arbor. (See below for the full listing of all nominees.) Photo Credit: Michael D-L Jordan/David Lorne Photographic

It’s the beginning of the 2025-26 school year in the Shiawassee region and that means it’s also time for some area high school seniors to learn about becoming a Wolverine!

Fifty-six of the Shiawassee County region’s most academically accomplished high school seniors have been nominated for scholarships to the University of Michigan by the Cook Family Foundation. One of these students will be selected to receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship from the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook Scholarship endowment administered by the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. 

In order to assist them with their college selection, 38 of the nominees recently attended an overnight trip to the University of Michigan. There they had the opportunity to meet with admission officers, take a tour of the campus and stadium, attend an actual U-M class, and spend time with students from the Shiawassee County area presently enrolled at the University of Michigan.

Nomiated Students got to tour the Michigan Stadium and see the Football locker room.

“This annual trip to Ann Arbor allows students to experience a first-hand look and feel of what life is like at the University of Michigan, and interact with current University students from their community,” said Foundation Co-Executive Director Tom Cook. “These students are the rising stars of our area. We are committed to encouraging them to consider U-M for the next step in their educational pursuits.”

Each of the nominees will receive at least a $5,000 scholarship to attend U-M Ann Arbor. In addition to the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship process, the Cook Family Foundation provides at least a $3,000 scholarship to any student from the greater Shiawassee region with a 3.5 GPA or higher who attends any of the three campuses of the University of Michigan (Flint, Dearborn, or Ann Arbor).  

One of the following students will be selected to receive the four-year, full-tuition scholarship as mentioned above: from Byron: Mason Davis and Molly Webster; from Chesaning: Haley Garno, Mallory Howell, and Olivia Kovick; from Corunna: Gabrielle Aldrich, Nolan Carr, Payton Chandler, Sarabdil Chauhan, Elizabeth Dettman, Mackenzie LeCureux, and Gracie TerMeer; from Durand: Hailey Betts, Madison Dennis, Carver Purdy, Brock Randall, and Brandon Watson; from Laingsburg: Hazel Burley, Cody Cataline, Izabella Latuszek, Evan Lefevre, and Evan Porubsky; from Morrice: Parker Mockeridge; from New Lothrop: Sean Dammann, Micah Kisser, Logan Lienau, Brenden Olsen, Laura Sharpe, and Aidan Wenzlick; from Ovid-Elsie: Selena Arbogast, Lilian Bates, Emmylou Blaha, Gavin Chadwick, Jackson Custer, Vance Jorae, Ava Juhas, McKenzie Keck, Lilliana Kennedy, Alyson Moore, Sarah Newman, Kailee Parker, Nolan Rasch, and Daniel Topping; from Owosso: Addison Bila, Ellen DeLong, Danica Dwyer, Lydia Golombisky, Caroline Harper, Liam Hathaway, Gabrielle Hufnagel, Tyler Jurhs, Andrew Palatka, Sarina Shannon, Owen Skarich, and Harrison Sydow; and from Perry: Chandler Webb.

This is the 21st year of the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship, which is funded entirely by its namesakes’ endowment.  Past recipients of the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship have included:  Emily Rathka from Laingsburg in 2025, Quinn Skarich from Owosso in 2024, Emily Smith from Chesaning in 2023, Dillan Morell from New Lothrop in 2022, Elizabeth Tolrud from Owosso in 2021, Mason Collard from Owosso and Kyah Ribble from Perry in 2020, Autumn Zwiernik from Laingsburg in 2019, Tyson Moore from Corunna in 2018, Elizabeth Hoornstra from Chesaning in 2017, Mitchell Lawrence from Byron in 2016, Nick Miller from Laingsburg in 2015, Nolan Wendling from New Lothrop in 2014, Emily Feuka from Perry in 2013, Sam Whaley from Perry in 2012, Adam Stewart from Laingsburg in 2011, Valerie Micol from Byron in 2010, Adam Dingens from Corunna in 2009, Randy Piper from Owosso in 2008, Dan Frechtling from Perry in 2007 and Kendra Frye from Owosso in 2006.

For assistance applying to U-M, or for more information on scholarships available for U-M Flint, U-M Dearborn,  or U-M Ann Arbor, visit the Cook Family Foundation at www.cookfamilyfoundation.org.

The Impact of the Cook Fellows from Summer 2025

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From left to right: Yvette Collard (Director of Scholarships), Laurie Platner, Jeana Travis, Rajvinder Kaur, Luke Henige, Haylee Luft, Quinn Skarich, Claire Agnew, Anna Owens (Co-Executive Director), & Rachel Osmer (Associate Director).

Each summer, the Cook Family Foundation partners with local nonprofit and government agencies to provide meaningful internships for current University of Michigan students from Shiawassee County. The Cook Fellows have been operating since 2013. The experience bolsters relationships with our nonprofit partners, who are in need of support, by providing funding for them to employ high caliber interns from Shiawassee County who want to give back to their community. The beauty of the Cook Fellows program is that it allows local students the opportunity to have an impactful experience while also providing services to local agencies. Nonprofits get to have some of the leaders and best working for them over the summer, and students get to dip their toes into the professional water. The Foundation sees this initiative as a win-win-win: for the Foundation, for our students, and for our community. 

Health Department Director, Larry Johnson, and Claire Agnew

This summer the Foundation funded seven Fellows across the county. Each student interviewed and was hired at their placement through the partners’ process. The partners were able to interview students to find the best fit for their organization. We had Fellows at the Shiawassee Health Department, DeVries Nature Conservancy, Memorial Healthcare, and more. Each location provides a unique experience. Not only do the students get firsthand experience at their placement, they also get the opportunity to network with the Foundation and other Fellows throughout the summer. This networking provided the chance to share placement experiences and build connections that can continue back at the University of Michigan. At the end of the experience, all participants were surveyed to share insights about their time working in Shiawassee County. One hundred percent of 2025 Fellows would encourage and recommend this program to their peers. An additional insight from the survey showed that some students had their future plans affirmed from their experience this summer, while others found themselves wanting to explore different paths after their summer employment. This dichotomy is exactly why the Foundation does this work. Students get professional experience in a low risk environment; this helps students learn earlier if their current path is correct for them, or if their passion lies elsewhere. 

Luke Henige and Memorial Researcher Monica

In addition to valuable professional experience, many of our Fellows report that the work they got to do was meaningful for their soul. One student stated that, “I realized that even while dentistry is my career path, art and creativity still have so much value in my life. Continuing to nurture those aspects of myself will be critical to find balance and fulfillment in my life.” This statement emphasizes the importance of empowering students to explore their passions, while also encouraging their professional growth. We recognize that each student’s journey is unique, and we plan to continue to help them explore their passions and grow professionally as the Cook Fellows program continues year after year. 

This summer the following organizations had the opportunity to host a Fellow: 

  • The ARC Mid-Michigan – Laurie Platner
  • DeVries Nature Conservancy – Haylee Luft
  • Memorial Healthcare in Owosso – Luke Henige
  • Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership – Rajvinder Kaur
  • Shiawassee Health & Wellness – Jeana Travis 
  • Shiawassee Arts Center – Quinn Skarich
  • Shiawassee Health Department – Claire Agnew 

Thank you to all who contributed to make this a meaningful experience this summer! 

The Shiawassee Scholars Program Prepares Eighth Graders for What Lies Ahead

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In 1999, the Cook Family Foundation started a partnership with the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District (SRESD) to provide academically talented high school students the opportunities, resources and support to reach their full potential.  Since then, more than 1,200 eighth graders from eight area high schools have been recognized as Shiawassee Scholars.  

A new report documents the success of the program: 81% of the Shiawassee Scholars have enrolled in college, as compared to 54% of their peers. Impressively, most of them are attending prestigious four-year universities.  (See Figure 1 and Figure 2 for data details.) Getting into a good college, often with a scholarship, is the first step. The report, compiled by the Center for Education Design, Evaluation, and Research in the Marsal Family School of Education at the University of Michigan also shows that Shiawassee Scholars do well at college, with them persisting at higher education, getting similar grades, and graduating at rates comparable to other college students.

“Working with Bruce Cook three decades ago, we knew that Shiawassee students were as smart as kids from anywhere,” said Tom Cook.  “But they lacked the opportunities, support, and guidance to attend the best colleges.”  Discussions with parents, counselors, and administrators with the SRESD led to the creation of the Shiawassee Scholars program in 1999 with funding from the Cook Family Foundation.  

“We knew in our hearts we were impacting the lives of these students from their comments and graduations over the decades” said SRESD Superintendent Dave Schulte. “It’s great to see our shared endeavor verified by this research.”

What makes the program successful?  Researchers conducted a number of focus groups with current and former Shiawassee Scholars and they identified the encouragement of teachers, help with the logistics of education such as college applications, test preparation, scholarships to summer college programs, an overnight visit to the University of Michigan at the start of high school, and the influence of other and previous Shiawassee Scholars. 

According to the report,“the near-peer interactions between current and former scholars also shapes expectancy and task value.”  In other words, guidance and advice from college students helps Shiawassee Scholars see that they too can attend a four-year university and convinces them of the benefit of the work necessary to achieve academic success.   

In a rural county, it can sometimes be difficult for talented students to see themselves as college students, even with the encouragement of parents and teachers.  The Shiawassee Scholars program provides both motivation and mechanics to make the most of high school, apply for admission and scholarships to prestigious universities, and then succeed.  as one former scholar explained, the Shiawassee Scholars program “was one of the first rungs…in a long ladder of achievement.” 

Click here to read the entire report from CEDER at the University of Michigan.