Shiawassee Area Students Explore the University of Michigan Ann Arbor on annual Scholarship Nominee Trip

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Forty-seven 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 2026-2027 school year in the Shiawassee region and that means it’s also time for the best and brightest high schoolers from the area to learn about becoming a Wolverine!

Forty-eight 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. Students were nominated based on their academic achievements: grade point average, class rank, and SAT scores. One of these nominees 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, 47 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 football stadium, sit in on an actual U-M class, and spend time with current students from the Shiawassee County area enrolled at the University of Michigan.

“By visiting Ann Arbor each year, high schoolers get a genuine look at university life and can learn from current U-M undergrads who once walked in their shoes,” noted Tom Cook, Co-Executive Director of the Foundation. “The greater Shiawassee region is full of exceptional young talent. Our mission is to inspire them to envision themselves thriving at Michigan.”

Each of the nominees that is admitted and then chooses to attend will receive at least a $5,000 scholarship to the University of Michigan – 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: Jonah Spencer; from Chesaning: Jordyn Butcher, Autumn Cicinelli, Law Danek, Hailia Jewell, Oliver Keck, Alaina Knoellinger, Parker Kohagen, Gavin Moore, and Luke Skaryd; from Corunna: Kayla Hook, Ezra Nellis, Evan Warner, Kaminee Auge, Karionna Graham, Thomas Brooks, Elliott Carr, Joshua Siddock, Austin Sweet, and Micah Yates; from Durand: Elise Drauch, Jacob O’Bryant, and Nathaniel Schaefer; from Laingsburg: Nathaniel Davis, Samantha Gutzman, Collin Logghe, Ethan Platte, Grant Sprague, and Payge Woodworth; from Morrice: Maxwell Horvatin and Kane McLean; from New Lothrop: Chloe Czymbor, Logan Frost, Makenna Gemalsky, and Sophia Henige; from Ovid-Elsie: Belle Cooper, Micah Ladiski, and Reid Roberts; from Owosso: Alistair Andres, Rylie Burcher, Julia Ciarlino, and Adeline Mahoney; and from Perry: Collin Nolkemper, Calhoun Place, Lucas Rodgers, Leah Schneider, Riley Smith, and Emma Thielen.

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:  Madison Dennis from Durand – 2026, Emily Rathka from Laingsburg – 2025, Quinn Skarich from Owosso – 2024, Emily Smith from Chesaning – 2023, Dillan Morell from New Lothrop – 2022, Elizabeth Tolrud from Owosso – 2021, Mason Collard from Owosso and Kyah Ribble from Perry – 2020, Autumn Zwiernik from Laingsburg – 2019, Tyson Moore from Corunna – 2018, Elizabeth Hoornstra from Chesaning – 2017, Mitchell Lawrence from Byron – 2016, Nick Miller from Laingsburg – 2015, Nolan Wendling from New Lothrop – 2014, Emily Feuka from Perry – 2013, Sam Whaley from Perry – 2012, Adam Stewart from Laingsburg – 2011, Valerie Micol from Byron – 2010, Adam Dingens from Corunna – 2009, Randy Piper from Owosso – 2008, Dan Frechtling from Perry – 2007 and Kendra Frye from Owosso – 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, email Rachel at the Cook Family Foundation at rachel@cookfamilyfoundation.org.

The Cook Fellows Program: 11 Students; 8 Agencies; 14 Years of Service

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In the photo left to right: Back: Truman Danek, Charlie Agnew, Liam McGraw, and Luke Henige. Front: Mirabella Carolan, Peyton Lamb, Sydnie Gillet, Raegan Taylor, Owen Feldpausch, and Lily Bruff

This summer, the Cook Family Foundation was proud to continue the Cook Fellows program across Shiawassee County, welcoming 11 University of Michigan students home to make a difference in the communities they know and love. The Foundation partners with local nonprofit and government organizations to provide meaningful internship opportunities for University of Michigan students from Shiawassee County. This year is the 14th year of the Cook Fellows program, and we were grateful to continue our relationships with several long-standing partners while also welcoming new organizations into the Cook Fellows program.

At its heart, the Cook Fellows program is about connection. It connects talented young people with organizations doing important work in their communities, while giving students the opportunity to gain real-world experience and give back to the place they call home. The result is a true win-win-win: local organizations gain talented and enthusiastic support, students build valuable professional skills and relationships, and Shiawassee County benefits from the energy and ideas of its next generation of leaders.

This summer the Foundation funded eleven Fellows across the county at eight different nonprofit or governmental agencies. Each student interviewed and was hired at their placement through the partners’ process; this allows for the partners and the students to find a mutually beneficial fit for placement. We had Fellows at the Durand Area Chamber of Commerce, DeVries Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Shiawassee River, Memorial Healthcare, and more. Every placement offered something different. Students had the opportunity to learn about their chosen fields, take on meaningful responsibilities, and see firsthand how local organizations serve the community. At the same time, host organizations benefited from the fresh perspectives, skills, and enthusiasm that these students brought to their work.

SEDP’s Jody Roethele, Sally Warren, and Brent Jones with fellow, Charlie Agnew

The experience extended beyond the workplace. Throughout the summer, fellows also had opportunities to connect with the Foundation and one another. These gatherings gave students a chance to build friendships, expand their professional networks, share what they were learning, and discover new possibilities through the experiences of their peers. Those connections and lessons will stay with them long after the summer ends. Fellows return to the University of Michigan with new experiences to add to their resumes, stronger professional skills, new relationships, and a deeper appreciation for the importance of serving their communities.

At the end of the experience, all participants were surveyed to share insights about their time working in Shiawassee County. The Foundation wanted to learn more about the fellows’ experiences, whether it reinforced their current career goals or shifted their path. Every fellow reported that they would recommend being a Cook Fellow to their peers, and that their time spent in Shiawassee this summer had a positive impact on their community.

Interestingly, half of the fellows reported that their summer experience affirmed their future career goals, while the other half reported that it caused them to shift their career path. This is exactly why these experiences are important – it helps young people to learn if they are truly interested in a path or not before they are too far down the path. One fellow said, “As a pre-med student, getting involved with clinical research has inspired me to become involved as a physician and follow in the footsteps of many of the doctors who I’ve seen participate.”

Greater Durand Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Candyce Wolsfeld, and Fellow, Raegan Taylor

An additional big win for the Foundation is that these students end the summer with more professionalism under their belts. Growth as a professional is more than just using Google and Spreadsheets. A positive example of this is a fellow stating, “The biggest lesson I learned was there is more than one way to come to a resolution.”

The Foundation looks forward to continuing to bring University of Michigan students back to Shiawassee each summer for partnership, growth, and community engagement. If you are interested in learning more about the Cook Fellows program or how to have a student at your agency, please contact Rachel at the Foundation at Rachel@cookfamilyfoundation.org. Visit our Fellows tab on our website to get more details!

Foundation’s Grant to Camp Hayo-Went-Ha has Double Benefit

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The Cook Family Foundation board and staff with Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservency’s Executive Director, Glen Chown, at “The Point” at Camp Hayo-Went-Ha on Torch Lake.

Protect. Preserve. Pass it on. That is the theme of a new partnership between the Hayo-Went-Ha Camps and the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) to ensure the long-term success of the Camps and the permanent protection of their 500 acre site on Torch Lake. 

The Cook Family Foundation has made a pledge of $2 million dollars to the $14.5 million campaign just publicly announced by the Conservancy.  Hayo-Went-Ha Camps are part of the lives of three generations of the Cook Family; this grant will ensure that legacy continues and that the camp experience will be available well into the future.

Anna Owens at the Foundation’s visit to Camp in May 2026.

“Because of the role Camps have played in so many lives, and because of the necessity of nature, I am pleased to announce that the Cook Family Foundation is making our largest grant ever,” said co-Executive Director Tom Cook at a campaign kick-off event on July 17 in Elk Rapids, Michigan.  “The creative way that this campaign has been structured will ensure that the Camps have an endowment to draw on to preserve the facilities, the land, the woods, and the shoreline so necessary for the Camps to be Hayo-Went-Ha Camps.”

The State YMCA of Michigan, the operator of Camp Torch Hayo-Went-Ha for boys and Camp Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha for girls, will receive $13 million from the sale of the easement to GTRLC which will be put into a protected endowment fund to be used for the maintenance and preservation of both camp sites. “This is a win-win project” said co-Executive Director Anna Owens. “Our grant dollars used to protect the environment of Torch Lake will also then be used to ensure the long-term viability of two outstanding camps.”

The $2 million dollar extra-ordinary grant will be made over five years and is not part of the Foundation’s annual budget. It was approved by the Cook Family Foundation board after a site visit to the Torch Lake site in May of this year.  The Cook Family Foundation prior to 2020 made a number of grants to the Hayo-Went-Ha Camps for facilities, buses, and scholarship funds.  Bruce Cook, a benefactor to the Foundation, attended Camp Hayo-Went-Ha as a youth during World War II and served on various camp committees and the board of the State YMCA of Michigan. 

Tom Cook speaking at the GTRLC and Hayo-Went-Ha Camps’ announcement event.

“We have made the conscious and future-focused choice to protect the transformational Hayo-Went-Ha Camps experience, ensuring that future generations will continue to discover confidence, connection, leadership, and belonging in this extraordinary place,” said JC Carlson, CEO of the Camps. To learn more about the Protect, Preserve, Pass it On campaign and how this new partnership will benefit the Camps visit Camp’s Conservation Easement Site.

The special site, which has been the location of Camp Hayo-Went-Ha since 1904, includes over 6,000 feet of shoreline on Torch Lake. The total project cost is more than $17.5 million. The Camps made a donation of $3 million by offering the sale of the easement below its appraised value. So far, GTRLC has raised more than $10 million, leaving $4.5 million to raise in order to forever protect the crown jewel of Torch Lake, one of the most iconic camp properties in the U.S. 

“This rare opportunity protects one of the most significant conservation priorities on Torch Lake,” said Glen Chown, CEO of the GTRLC. “It also gives the Camps the resources to secure its future and continue offering outdoor experiences to generations of young people.”  To learn more about, and make a donation to, the campaign visit GTRLC’s campaign site.

Aerial view of Torch Lake with a focus on Camp Hayo-Went-Ha.