Fick among scholarship winners

More than 8,500 text and online votes were cast by the friends, families, peers, teachers and neighbors of 10 Chevy Scholar finalists over the course of two weeks to determine four $5,000 scholarship winners from the West Dakota Chevy Dealers and Heartland Chevy Dealers of North Dakota and western Minnesota. The finalists were chosen from more than 275 applicants.

In the end, Brandon Swanson, a senior at Devils Lake High School, Devils Lake, N.D.; Austin Mack, a Dickinson High School junior from Dickinson, N.D.; DeeAnna Ziegler, a senior from Hazen High School, Hazen, N.D.; and Cassandra Fick, a senior at Litchville-Marion High School, Marion, N.D., earned the votes needed to win.

Students either nominated themselves or were nominated by family, friends, parents, teachers or coaches. Finalists were determined by their community involvement, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, volunteer work and personal essays.

“Narrowing down the 275-plus applicants to 10 finalists was incredibly challenging,” said Kathy Gaddie, president of the West Dakota Chevy Dealers. “North Dakota and Minnesota are filled with incredibly bright and promising young people. The students we heard from were outstanding. All Chevy dealers involved are incredibly proud that we can help these great kids fulfill their potential through these scholarships. They are great representatives of their communities and Chevrolet.”

While the program planned to provide only four $5,000 scholarships, after narrowing the applicants down to 10 finalists, the dealers decided to recognize the other finalists with $500 awards.

“We wanted to acknowledge the effort and excellence of all of the applicants. We were very impressed with their accomplishments and what they give back to their communities,” said Brad Sather, president of the Heartland Chevy Dealers.

Tags: community, education