Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Nelson, Kohl, Meyer, Hollar, Rau
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co, WI) 3/20/2019
Receives Herb Kohl Scholarship (Samantha Nelson - 2019)
Samantha Nelson
By Valerie Brecht
Samantha Nelson, Samantha Nelson, Owen-Withee High School senior, has been named an Herb Kohl Student Excellence Scholarship recipient.
The daughter of Patty Nelson and Rick Nelson, she is one of 188 graduating high school students to receive a $10,000 scholarship.
According to the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation, “Student Excellence Scholarship recipients have demonstrated excellence in the academic arena and high motivation to achieve, have displayed a broad range of activity and leadership outside the academic setting and have shown strong promise for succeeding in college and beyond.”
“I felt really excited, surprised and honored,” said Nelson on finding out she got the scholarship.
Nelson learned about the scholarship through her school guidance counselor and applied in early November.
Students are evaluated on their leadership, citizenship, school and community involvement, and academic achievement; along with being able to articulate future goals in different areas of their life.
“It’s one of the more involved scholarship applications,” said Nelson.
Thankfully, Nelson had plenty of accolades to list on her application.
Nelson is class valedictorian and holds a 4.0 grade-point average. She has made the high honor roll every semester of high school and is a member of the national Honor Society.
Not only does Nelson excel academically, she also takes part in several extra-curricular activities. She plays in the high school band. She participates in volleyball and track, is a member of the O-W Club for varsity athletes and plays league softball in the summer. She was a Badger Girls State attendee last summer.
Nelson stays involved in her community through her 4-H club, the Woodgrove Workers. Along with doing service projects, she helps run the 4-H food stand in the summer and shows cats and art projects at the fair each year.
Additionally, Nelson has held several leadership roles. She serves as a 4-H camp counselor during the summer. At school, she is student council secretary and the senior class secretary. As class secretary, she had helped plan events like the senior banquet and senior trip.
Nelson also takes part in the youth Apprenticeship Program through the Owen-Withee Pharmacy. The program combines class instruction with mentored on-the-job training. Nelson has worked at the pharmacy for the past two-and-a-half years (full-time during the summers). As it turns out, that experience has opened the door to her future career path.
Nelson will attend UW-Madison in the fall to pursue a pharmacy degree. She plans to go through a six-year program to become a pharmacist.
“When I started working, I had no idea I’d fall in love with the pharmacy,” said Nelson.
However, becoming a pharmacist seemed to be a natural fit for her.
“I like helping people – I’ve always wanted to help people. I also like the chemistry behind it – I think it’s really interesting,” she said.
Nelson said the scholarship will definitely help with her future college expenses. She expressed special appreciation to Mary Meyer, Chris Hollar and Tracy Rau, who wrote letters of reference for the scholarship.
Outside of her extra-curricular activities, Nelson enjoys horse riding, camping, traveling and doing artwork.
The Kohl Foundation Scholarship and Fellowship program was established in 1990 by, philanthropist and businessman Herb Kohl. To date the foundation has awarded $17.8 million to Wisconsin educators, principals, students and schools. In addition to the student scholarships, awards in the amount of $6,000 will be given to 100 teachers, 16 principals and their schools this year.
