Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Lindner, Meyer, Johnson, Jodarski, Billings, Behnke, Pieper, Kaiser, Parker
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 3/24/2021
Lindner to Receive Herb Kohl Student Excellence Scholarship
Loyal High School senior Katlyn Lindner has been named a recipient of the
Herb Kohl Student Excellence Scholarship. Submitted photo.
By Valorie Brecht
Loyal senior Katlyn Lindner has been named a recipient of the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Student Excellence Scholarship, worth $10,000.
“It means a lot. I am happy that I am getting recognized,” said Katlyn.
The purpose of the Herb Kohl Excellence Scholarship program is to recognize student leadership, citizenship, school and community involvement, and academic achievement. Scholarship recipients are also selected based on having “shown strong promise for succeeding in college and beyond.” Lindner is one of 105 graduating high students to receive the Excellence Scholarship.
She was taken by surprise when she found out she got the scholarship.
“They didn’t tell my dad [Loyal district administrator Chris Lindner] and they brought me into the office because I was ‘in trouble.’ And so, my dad was like, ‘What did you do?’ and I was like, ‘I didn’t do anything.’ So, they gave me a piece of paper and told me to read it off and it said that I won it.
“I was really surprised because the application is not fun to do. There’s a lot of essays. So, I was kind of relieved that all the hard work paid off,” said Katlyn.
In her application, Katlyn had to describe her academic and extracurricular achievement. She has received the Gold Award, her school’s highest GPA-based award, all four years of high school. She has also earned the Scholar-Athletic Award and the President’s Award for Educational Excellence. She is a three-sport athlete, playing volleyball, softball and baseball. She served as a team captain for volleyball since her sophomore year and a basketball team captain this past season.
Outside of school, Katlyn is a 4-H member and plays piano. She’s a part of the Marshfield Fastpitch Softball Association and the Junior Legion Auxiliary. She’s done a lot of volunteering through St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. Her other volunteer work includes helping the local Lions Club set up tents for events, helping with blood drives at the legion and taking care of the veterans’ memorial at the West Side Park.
“All my community involvement, keeping my grades high and then being involved in my sports-it all has taught me to work hard and achieve all the goals that I set out for myself, and how I can give back to other people and be a good role model,” said Katlyn.
She plans to attend UW-La Crosse this fall to study exercise and sport science, with a long-term goal of becoming a chiropractor.
In addition to describing her school and community involvement on her scholarship application, Lindner also had to write about her educational, career, community service and personal goals. She also had to submit three letters of recommendation.
Excellence Scholarship recipients are selected by a statewide committee composed of civic leaders, and representatives of educational-related associations and the program’s co-sponsors: The Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools, regional Cooperative Educational Service Agencies, the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators and the Wisconsin homeschool Parents Association.
The Kohl Foundation Scholarship and Fellowship program was established by Herb Kohl, philanthropist and businessman, in 1990. Since then, the foundation has awarded nearly $25 million to Wisconsin educators, principals, students and schools. This year, there were 317 awards given out to students, teachers and principals.
“Education is the key to the future of Wisconsin and our nation,” said Kohl. “I am very proud of the accomplishments of these students, teachers, and principals and look forward to the great contributions they will make in the future.”
Lindner will be the 10th Loyal graduate to receive the Herb Kohl Excellence Scholarship. Previous recipients include Derrick Meyer, David Meyer, Ryan Johnson, Melissa Jodarski, Aaron Billings, Heidi Behnke, Jordyn Pieper, Lura Kaiser and Bailey Parker.
