WNCC Announces Fall 2025 Honors List
Western Nebraska Community College has announced the students named to the President’s Honor Roll and Dean’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2025 semester.
These academic honors recognize students who demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievement during the semester.
President’s List (4.0 GPA)
Alliance – Garrett Myers, Chili J. Potmesil, Sunshine S. Quick
Dean’s List (3.4–3.99 GPA)
Alliance – Elijah A. Budd, Cody L. Dauel, Tiffany Graham, Diana Kollars, Andrew Hinman, Alessandra Montemayor, Juan Emilio Ponce, Cassondra L. Schreiner, Micheal Scott, Wyatt O. Weiss, Makinley D. Wignall;
Hemingford – Sienna Boerkircher
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UNMC Announces Fall 2025 Dean’s List
The University of Nebraska Medical Center has announced its fall 2025 dean’s list for students enrolled in the colleges of nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and allied health professions.
To qualify for the dean’s list, nursing and the allied health students must be enrolled for 12 or more hours during the semester and have a grade point average of 3.75 or above. To qualify for the pharmacy dean’s list, students must place in the top 20% of their class and maintain a grade point an average of 3.5 or above. Dental students must be in the top 10% of their class for the semester.
College of Nursing Kearney
Alliance — Riley Lawrence
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Hammitt Scholarships Announced at High Plains Band and Choir Festival
By Taylor Neugebauer
Chadron State College
One hundred forty high school students from 25 schools in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming gathered for Chadron State College’s 54th annual High Plains Band and Choir Festival in early February.
This year’s festival marked the first scholarship awards from the Hammitt Endowment Fund, administered through the Chadron State Foundation, to strengthen Chadron State’s Music program. A total of $21,000 in scholarships was awarded to High Plains participants who plan to attend Chadron State College and major in Music.
The Hammitt Fund honors the late Dr. Jackson Hammitt, who taught music at Chadron State from 1967 to 2001 and remained connected to campus after retiring. He directed the Chadron Community Chorus for 29 years, frequently accompanied students and guest performers, and served the college and community in many roles. Hammitt and his wife, Peg, were longtime supporters of the Music program, and the scholarships sustain their commitment by helping Music students attend Chadron State.
Dr. Rick Puzzo, Professor and department chair, said there were 224 registrations including 79 wind players and percussionists in the band, 62 vocalists in the choir, and 12 students in the guitar/bass ensemble.
CSC faculty presented a free concert in Memorial Hall’s Auditorium Feb. 2, following a day of vocal and instrumental clinics. High school students performed a final public concert in Memorial Hall’s Auditorium on Feb. 3.
Dr. Joel Schreuder, Professor of Music, directed the choir. The Honor Band was instructed by guest director Dr. Lisa Tatum, Assistant Professor at Lubbock Christian University.
Students who have participated in Band or Choir for three or four years were given special recognition.
Participation Awards
Honor Band 3-year
Hemingford, Neb.: Emily Johnston
Honor Band 4-year
Alliance, Neb.: Maira Richey
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University of Wyoming Fall Semester Provost’s Honor Roll: Nebraska
The University of Wyoming lists the following students from Nebraska on the 2025 fall semester Provost’s Honor Roll.
The Provost’s Honor Roll consists of undergraduates who have completed at least six but fewer than 12 hours with a minimum 3.5 grade-point average for the semester.
The University of Wyoming provides quality undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,388 students from all 50 states and 73 countries. Established in 1886, UW is a nationally recognized research institution with accomplished faculty and world-class facilities. Offering 200 areas of study, UW provides an environment for success. A low student/faculty ratio allows for individual instruction and attention, and undergraduates often participate in cutting-edge research projects.
For more information about the University of Wyoming, view the webpage at www.uwyo.edu.
Students are:
Alliance
Nathan Ackerman
Avah Steggall
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More than 60 students selected for Kearney Health Opportunities Program at UNK
As communities across the state continue to face health care provider shortages, the University of Nebraska at Kearney is investing in students committed to changing that reality.
More than 60 high school seniors have been selected to join the Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP) this fall, beginning their academic journeys at UNK with the goal of serving rural Nebraska as future health care professionals.
Representing communities from the Panhandle to the Missouri River, the incoming students were chosen for their academic achievement, leadership potential and commitment to practicing in rural or medically underserved areas.
“These students represent the future of health care in Nebraska,” said Peggy Abels, director of UNK Health Sciences. “The work they begin at UNK will have a ripple effect across the state, expanding access to care, strengthening local health systems and ultimately improving the quality of life for countless Nebraskans.”
According to data from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, more than 80% of the state’s health diagnosing and treating practitioners are located in metropolitan areas, while much of the state remains federally designated as medically underserved. Programs like KHOP are designed to address that imbalance by recruiting students from rural communities and supporting them through professional training.
Launched in 2010, KHOP provides financial assistance, academic support and professional development opportunities for students pursuing careers in 12 different health professions: dental hygiene, dentistry, medical laboratory science, medical nutrition, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, public health and radiography. Many participants receive full-tuition scholarships to attend UNK and guaranteed admission to UNMC upon successful completion of program requirements.
Through the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex, most students can complete both undergraduate and professional training in Kearney before entering practice. The model reflects a shared commitment by UNK and UNMC to educate providers closer to the communities they are most likely to serve.
As part of the KHOP Learning Community, first-year participants live together in a residential setting that provides structured academic support and early exposure to health careers. Students meet with health care providers, tour medical facilities and build connections that prepare them for professional school and future practice. The program provides a $2,000 scholarship for all KHOP Learning Community members during the first year.
More than 170 students are currently part of KHOP, and the 67 high school seniors accepted for fall 2026 represent the second-largest class in program history.
“The continued interest in KHOP shows that students across Nebraska are ready to step up and address the health care challenges facing our state,” Abels said. “We’re excited to welcome these outstanding individuals into our community, and we look forward to supporting them as they prepare to make a meaningful impact in the years ahead.”
For more information on the KHOP program, visit unk.edu/khop, call 308-865-8260 or email abelsp@unk.edu.
The following students, listed by hometown, will begin the Kearney Health Opportunities Program this fall:
Alliance – Makenna Quick, physical therapy
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UNK contest recognizes outstanding young writers and artists
The University of Nebraska at Kearney is recognizing eight students selected as winners of the annual Nebraska Emerging Writers and Artists Contest.
In its sixth year, the competition encourages high schoolers from across the state to showcase their creativity by submitting essays, poems, short stories and artwork using a specific theme as inspiration. This year’s theme was “Nebraska’s Land, Nature and Memories.”
More than 160 entries were submitted, with winners selected by UNK undergraduate students through a blind review process. The first-place winner in each writing category receives a $500 scholarship from the UNK Department of English and second place is awarded a $200 scholarship. First- and second-place entries in the art category will receive $100 and $50 in art supplies, respectively.
All winners are invited to present their work April 10 during UNK’s Student Language and Literature Conference. Winning art entries will be displayed in the Fine Arts Building and Thomas Hall that week.
The contest is co-sponsored by UNK’s American Democracy Project, English Department and Art and Design Department, along with the Art Society, Sigma Tau Delta honor society and Phi Eta Sigma honor society.
Nebraska Emerging Writers and Artists Contest Winners
POETRY
First: Abigail Just, Millard South High School – “The Good ‘Ole Red, White, and Blue”
Second: Kylie Kumpf, Hemingford High School – “Her Song”