NEW University of Michigan Shiawassee Advantage

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Pictured with the Foundation’s President, Bruce Cook are (from left) University of Michigan-Flint’s support team for the Shiawassee area: Brent Nickola, Senior Officer Major Gifts; Nia Bashir-Benton, Undergraduate Admissions Counselor; Shari Schrader, Vice Chancellor for Advancement; and Chris Giordano, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. (Photo Credit: DLP David-Lorne Photographic)

 

The Cook Family  Foundation is proud to announce the new University Of Michigan Shiawassee Advantage. Now any high school senior with a grade point of 3.5 or higher from any of the ten area high schools serving all or part of Shiawassee County will now receive a $3,000 Cook Family Foundation Scholarship if they enroll at any U Of M campus. In addition​,​ these students will become eligible for the many U Of M merit-based scholarships as well as the full-tuition Go Blue Guarantee if they have demonstrated financial need.

A  reception honoring students from this area who are planning on attending the University Of Michigan-Flint this fall was held at the Owosso Country Club on Tuesday, August 16. It was sponsored jointly by the Cook Family Foundation and the University Of Michigan-Flint.  Several representatives of the UM-Flint team that support the students of the greater Shiawassee area were in attendance (pictured above), with Chris Giordano as the featured speaker.

“I was deeply honored to be a part of the Cook Family Foundation student reception for scholarship recipients. For over four decades, Bruce Cook and the Cook Family Foundation have been awarding scholarships to assist area students to attend the University of Michigan. And the newly-announced University of Michigan Shiawassee Advantage will support even more area students to attend UM-Flint. Their dedication and commitment to the support of our young adults and the value of higher education serves the future of our region, state and nation. I look forward to a growing partnership between the Cook Family Foundation and UM-Flint!”
~Chris Giordano, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of Michigan-Flint

Scholarship recipients invited to the event and who will be attending ​the University of Michigan-Flint this fall graduated from the following high schools: ​

Byron:              Madeline Davis, Kylee Flaherty, Paige Fondren, Julia Lane​

Corunna:          Leah Clough, Lucas Cunningham, Noah Dutcher, and John (Maxwell) Walker

Durand:            Lauren Brewer, Allyson Gillett, Aidan Loos, Lillian Scripter, Ryleigh Shephard, and Alicia Wright

Laingsburg:     Justin Grandy

Morrice:            Hayley Lademann

New Lothrop:   Jacob Burgess, Savannah Taylor

Ovid-Elsie:        Abigail Cooper and Callum Holley

Owosso:           Kelsey And​ry​kovich​, Keera Barnhill, and Keanan Springer

 

To learn more about the Cook Family Foundation’s scholarship work and learn more about how to apply, go to our Scholarships Overview page.

 

Foundation Awards Scholarships to Twenty-two Students

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The Cook Family Foundation continues to support the best and brightest students to attend the University of Michigan. From eight high schools in the greater Shiawassee area, 22 students have been awarded scholarships to the University of Michigan. This year, the scholarships awarded by the Foundation, the University of Michigan, and others totaled $898,000.

“It is great to get to celebrate in-person with these outstanding students, and give them some recognition for maneuvering through this pandemic so successfully academically–they certainly deserve it!”  said Foundation President, Bruce Cook at the annual scholarship banquet held May 10 at the Owosso Country Club.   “We are confident all of these students will go on to great things.”

Bruce Cook, President of the Foundation, and Dillan Morell of New Lothrop High School and winner of the Bruce and Jackqueline Cook four-year, full-tuition scholarship to the University of Michigan.

Dillan Morell of New Lothrop was awarded the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook Scholarship, one of the highest accolades in the greater Shiawassee County region. This scholarship, funded separately by Bruce and Jacqueline Cook, provides four years of tuition to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, with a value of about $65,000.  An additional 20 students have received scholarships from the Cook Family Foundation, ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.

Dillan is the son of Jay and Imagene Morell. Dillan is the co-valedictorian of his class at New Lothrop High School.  He is a Shiawassee Scholar and the recipient of a  Regents Merit Scholarship from the University of Michigan. Last year he earned the Eagle Scout Award. Dillan is enrolled in the college of Literature, Science and the Arts (LS&A) with plans to major in computer science, looking toward a career in software development or artificial intelligence.  

From left: Thomas Cook, Executive Director; Ella Coulter of Byron High School, and the Donald Cook Scholarship recipient; and Carrie Throm, Assistant Vice President, Leadership and Major Gift Programs, of the University of Michigan.

In recognition of the Foundation’s benefactor, the Donald Cook Scholarship was awarded to Ella Coulter of Byron. The Donald Cook Scholarship, endowed by the Cook Family Foundation, is awarded by the University of Michigan to a student attending the College of LS&A and is worth $40,000.  Donald Cook was a 1924 graduate of the University of Michigan who established the Foundation with his wife Florence-etta in 1978.  

Ella Coulter is the daughter of Christopher Coulter and Julie Cattane-Travis. Ella is a Shiawassee Scholar and is the Salutatorian of her class.  She is the vice-president of the Student Council and the National Honor Society treasurer.  She has participated in both volleyball and softball.  Ella is enrolled in the college of LSA with plans to get a Bachelors, Masters and PhD degree in behavioral science. 

A special event was the awarding of the newly announced $20,000 Kuhlman Family Scholarship, funded by UM alumni, Dr. Paul and Kit Kuhlman.  The first recipient is Anya Wasilenski, the daughter of Keith and Tarah Wasilenski.  She is the valedictorian of the Byron Area High School high school class and a Shiawassee Scholar.  Anya, enrolled in the College of Engineering, is the National Honor Society president, Student Body president, Marching Band drum major and active in robotics.   

From Left: Dr. Paul Kuhlman, Anya Wasilenski of Byron High School, and Kit Kuhlman. Anya is first recipient of the new Kuhlman Family Scholarship, funded by the Kuhlman’s.

The Kuhlman Scholarship is administered by the Cook Family Foundation, but funded by the Kuhlman Family. The benefactors are University of Michigan graduates, as are their children, Matt and Kimberly.  “We decided to fund a scholarship to a local deserving student, and thought who better to help us navigate a scholarship to our alma mater, than my lifelong friend, Bruce Cook,” said Dr. Kuhlman, when asked how the scholarship came about.

Of the 22 scholarship recipients from the eight area high schools honored, four are valedictorians of their class and twelve of them are Shiawassee Scholars. Scholarship winners include, from Byron Area High School:  Ella Coulter, Caleb Joslin, and Anya Wasilenski; from Chesaning Union High School, Hayden Williams; from Corunna High School:  Claire Buckley, Noah Dutcher, Colin Lavery, and Ashlee Napier; from Durand Area High School, Danica Lienemann; from Morrice High School, Adrianna Monear; from New Lothrop High School:  Hannah Beaucamp, Eva Harden, Luke Henige, Haley Vincke and Madison Wheeler; from Ovid-Elsie Area High School, Koralyn (Quin) Bailie; from Owosso High School:  Ellie Feldpausch, Jillian Klaver, Joseph Marcotte, Justin Svarc, and Jack Smith.

With these awards, the Foundation has now helped more than 850 students attend the University of Michigan. Recently, the Foundation has expanded its scholarship support to Shiawassee area students attending the University of Michigan campuses in Flint and Dearborn.  The final list of those scholarship recipients will be announced and honored later this summer.  You can learn more at:  https://www.cookfamilyfoundation.org/scholarships/

Bruce & Jackie Cook Scholarship Nominees Announced

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Photo credit: Michael D-L Jordan/David-Lorne Photographic Twenty-five of the most academically accomplished high school seniors from the Shiawassee County area recently made a trip to Ann Arbor. (See below for the full listing of all thirty-nine nominees, which includes those nominees unable to attend the trip.)

 

Thirty-nine of 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 Bruce and Jacqueline Cook.

In order to assist them with their college selection, twenty-five of the nominees recently attended an overnight trip to the University of Michigan where they met with admission officers, took a tour of the campus and stadium, heard a presentation for a professor, and had the opportunity to spend time with students from the Shiawassee County area presently enrolled at the University of Michigan.

“We want to make sure the leaders and the best among local high school students seriously consider the University of Michigan for the next level of education,” said Foundation President Bruce Cook.  “We are committed to the academic success of local students, and are committed to building partnerships with our public schools and our oldest public university.”

Each of the nominees will receive at least a $3,000 scholarship to the University of Michigan from the Cook Family Foundation.  The Cook Family Foundation annually provides a scholarship to any student from the greater Shiawassee region admitted to the University of Michigan.  In addition to scholarships to help students attend the University of MIchigan in Ann Arbor, the Foundation now also provides scholarships to Shiawassee area students with a 3.7 GPA or higher, who are admitted to UM-Flint or UM-Dearborn.  For assistance applying to UM, or for more information on scholarships, contact the Foundation or visit their website at: cookfamilyfoundation.org.

If they apply and are admitted to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the following students will be considered for the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship: from Byron: Ella Coulter, Abigail Franzmeier, Rachel Reed, and Anya Wasilenski; from Chesaning:  Reed Frasier, Nicholas Healey, and Hayden Williams; from Corunna:  Stephen Bender, Kalon Boilore, Claire Buckley, Colin Lavery and Collin Munro; from Durand:  Zachary Hinojosa; from Laingsburg:  Grace Elfring, Grant Goetschy, Reece Kramer, Caiden Palaziola, Alyse Rowley, and Ethan West; from New Lothrop:  Hannah Beaucamp, Eva Harden, Isabel Henige, Luke Henige, Dillan Morell, Haley Vincke, and Madison Wheeler; from Ovid Elsie: Koralyn Bailie, Wyatt Wilcox, and Dominic Wilkinson; from Owosso:  Kendall Anderson, Ellie Feldpausch, Aaron Jafri, Jillian Klaver, Joseph Marcotte, Jack Smith, and Kyra Waldner; and from Perry:  Elyse Bawks, Grace O’Neill, and Lillian Warren. 

This is the seventeenth year of the Bruce and Jacqueline Cook scholarship, which is funded entirely by its namesakes.  Past recipients of the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship have included 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 Foster (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 of Owosso in 2006.