Cook Family Foundation

This fall, 20 young men and women from nine area high schools will receive scholarships to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor thanks to the generosity of the Cook Family Foundation.  The future Wolverines were recognized at a dinner on May 7 and two students received special scholarship awards.

Laingsburg resident Autumn Zwiernik was awarded the Bruce & Jacqueline Cook Scholarship.  This four-year, full tuition scholarship is funded separately from the Foundation by its namesakes.  Autumn is the daughter of Matthew Zwiernik and Denise Kay and is a graduate of Del Mar Academy in Costa Rica, where she has spent the last year developing her Spanish skills and doing research on sea turtles.  She intends to pursue a science degree and study environmental issues at the University of Michigan.

The Donald Cook Scholarship was awarded to Olivia Graham, Laingsburg High School valedictorian, and the daughter of Troy and Shannon Graham.  She has been either President or Vice President of her class for the last four years, and is President of the Michigan Congregational Youth Council.  Olivia will investigate a major in political science, women’s studies, or public health.

The Donald Cook Scholarship is awarded by the University of Michigan to a student attending the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and provides $5,000 per year for four years at U-M.  It has been financially supported by the Cook Family Foundation in recognition of the Foundation’s founder.

Special guest speaker at the event was Kedra Ishop, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management of the University of Michigan. Dr. Ishop oversees undergraduate admissions, financial aid, the registrar, marketing and communications. Dr. Ishop noted how competitive admission to UM has become, reporting that this year there were over 65,000 applications for only 6,800 places in next year’s incoming class.  She congratulated the incoming students from Shiawassee County and provided advice on how best to take advantage of the higher education opportunities in Ann Arbor.

Of the 20 scholarship recipients from the nine area high schools, six of them are valedictorians of their class. Scholarship winners were: from Byron, Lillian Keesler and Timothy Marvin; from Chesaning, Weston Wendling; from Corunna, Charles Bruckman, Benjamin Jacobs, and Jacob Johnson; from Laingsburg, Malinda Barberio, Olivia Graham, and Zachary Koonter; from Morrice, Rhianna Lucas, from New Lothrop, Garrett Birchmeier, Caitlynn Bruff, and Charles Weber; from Ovid-Elsie, Haley Hilgendorf and Jakob Loynes; from Owosso, Abigail Christian, Taylor Estes, and Morgan Louch; from Perry, Ella Fisher; and from Laingsburg, Autumn Zwiernik (Del Mar Academy).

Eleven of the scholarship winners were recognized as Shiawassee Scholars when in eighth grade.  This program, funded by the Cook Family Foundation and operated by the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District, supports academically talented students during their high school year.  The program begins with an overnight college trip for eighth graders right after their graduation from middle school. Scholarship winner Autumn Zwiernik noted that she was inspired to attend the University of Michigan after attending the Ann Arbor campus on this trip four years ago,

More information on the Foundation’s scholarships can be found here.

On March 19, forty-nine eighth grade students officially became Shiawassee Scholars. The Class of 2023 pictured here is from: Byron, Corunna, Durand, Laingsburg, Morrice, New Lothrop, Owosso, Perry and St. Paul schools. By identifying and recognizing academically talented students early, the Shiawassee Scholars program seeks to encourage students to continue to pursue academically challenging activities during their high school years.  The program is a partnership between the Cook Family Foundation and the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District, and since 1999 and has recognized over 1000 Scholars.

The Shiawassee Scholars Program provides resources and support to academically talented high school students to reach their full potential.  Students are identified in eighth grade by achieving the highest scores in the county on the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). Shiawassee Scholars participate in several programs, starting with a three-day trip this June to the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.  Through high school, Scholars have the opportunity to practice their test-taking skills, attend several informational sessions regarding planning for college and career, get assistance with dual enrollment options and accelerated academic programs, and can apply for a scholarship for a summer academic program.

The newest Shiawassee Scholars (by school district) are: Larissa Call, Olivia Chapman, Reese Forgie, Mitchell Morrow, Houghton Svoboda, Lana Treidel, and Nathan Webster from Byron; Chase Bone, Laurie Platner, Isaiah Shook, Kaylee Siddens, Peyton Termeer, and Xavier Zuckschwerdt from Corunna; Sydney Leydig, Jillian Reddy, and Jaxon Smith from Durand; Emilia Laing, Aubrey Loos, Sydney Morrill, Casmir Palazzolo, Nicholas Regan, Olivia Rodriguez, Ian Smith, and Mitchell Yates from Laingsburg; Payton Gutting and Campbell Stinson from Morrice; and Nicholas Barnette, Ryan Heslip, and Tyler Kohlmann from New Lothrop; Claire Agnew, Alexander Binger, Amanda Brainerd, Tanner Cummings, Abigail Dryer, Evan Livingston, Adam Marcotte, Liam McGraw, Olivia McIntyre, Natalie Nolph, Elizabeth Rood, Marisa Rose, Natalie Thayer, and John Tuttle IV from Owosso; Chloe Douglas, Cassidy Flick, Jonah Smith, and David Zheng from Perry; and Tyler Hufnagel and Olivia Savage from St. Paul.

For more information about the Shiawassee Scholars contact Renee Doston at the SRESD by calling 989-743-3471  or by emailing her at: [email protected] or follow on FaceBook.