Snow-Redfern Foundation is honored to announce seven talented High School Seniors selected as scholarship recipients for the Snow-Redfern Foundation managed scholarship funds.
Two young people were selected by the Snow-Redfern Foundation Scholarship Review Circle to receive the Hempel Family Scholarship in the fall of 2024. Addisyn Muhr, of Alliance, will be attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to study Pre-Health Radiology. Aiden Benda, of Hemingford, will be attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to pursue a degree in Finance.
Five students were selected for the K.M. Dahlstedt Scholarship to be awarded for the fall of 2024. Brookelynn Warner, of Hemingford, will be attending Laramie County Community College to pursue a degree in Animal Sciences. Camden Wade, of Alliance, will be pursuing a degree in Comic Design at Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey. Holden Schultz, of Broadwater (Bridgeport High School), will pursue a Business & Theology degree from Chadron State College. Regan Braun, of Alliance, will attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney to pursue a nursing degree. Kalli Bridge, of Alliance, will attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to pursue a degree in Nutrition and Health Science.
Preference for the scholarships is given to seniors who attend high school in Box Butte or Morrill Counties and plan to pursue careers in trades or careers related to agriculture or STEM, as well as students that will attend college in Nebraska, or return to Nebraska upon obtaining their degree.
This year’s Scholarship Review Circle included Snow-Redfern Foundation board members- Rob Eirich (Scottsbluff), Teresa Sanders (Alliance), Karla Bennetts (Kearney), and Andrew Hunzeker (Scottsbluff). This year additional voice was integrated into decision-making, including Kevin Dahlstedt of the K.M. Dahlstedt (formerly of Alliance) scholarship fund and two college first-year students that completed Snow-Redfern’s Root2Rise Young Women’s Leadership experience and scholarship award in 2023: Arielle Lawrence, now a freshman at UNK, and Kierra Miller, a freshman at Dakota State University.
“We value youth voice, community wisdom, and meaningful engagement and have been exploring all ways in which we can infuse our work and decision-making processes with the lived experience of those that are most impacted by our funds,” shared Executive Director, Sara Wilcox.
The scholarship awards are intended to pay homage to our roots as Nebraska Boys Ranch which instilled ranching values for over 70 plus years providing kids with the skills they need to be successful throughout their lives. The scholarship also emphasizes the simple concept of providing opportunity to kids who want to return to their rural communities to share their skills and education.
The Hempel Family Scholarship award has been an ongoing and generous gift honoring Mr. and Ms. Hempel, who were consistently generous contributors to Snow-Redfern Foundation, formerly the Nebraska Boys Ranch. Mr. Hempel was a long-time board member and he and his family supported the youth at Nebraska Boys Ranch through service and contributions intended to impact the lives of the youth placed at the Ranch. The K.M. Dahlstedt Scholarship was developed two years ago in partnership with the Dahlstedt family, who desired to honor their father and husband through awards focusing on the future success of students pursuing trades in our community.
“We are honored to offer this opportunity to Addiysn, Brookelynn, Cameron, Holden, Aiden, Regan, and Kalli. We honor the legacies of Edward M. and Eda S. Hempel and K.M. Dahlstedt who possessed impressive qualities of leadership, service, and dedication to academic studies by investing in our younger generation,” commented Mara Andersen, Board President of Snow-Redfern Foundation. “This year’s recipients demonstrated incredible commitment to their futures, their families, and their communities, and we wish them well on their future academic pursuits.”