Rachel Watermeier and Emily Zahn were co-valedictorians of the Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School Class of 2009 which graduated Saturday, May 9.
Both achieved four-point grade point averages.
Watermeier, daughter of Dan and Jean Ann Watermeier, Syracuse, will major in international business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
She thanked everyone who helped the Class of 2009 reach graduation. Watermeier said that the journey ahead for the graduates will not be easy.
The graduates’ past experiences will unite them, she said. The Class of 2009 has many cherished memories and will reflect on their times together for many years to come, Watermeier said.
The S-D-A High School Class of 2009 is better prepared to take on life’s challenges with confidence and a positive attitude, Watermeier concluded.
Zahn, daughter of David and Julie Zahn, Syracuse, will major in biochemistry at UNL.
The Class of 2009 has learned important life lessons, and will celebrate their lessons, memories and accomplishments, she said.
“The journey ahead will be far greater than anything we’ve undertaken,” Zahn concluded.
Besides Watermeier and Zahn, the Top 10 percent of the class included Brett Copley, Kelby Goering, Alexandria Seelhoff and Louise Wellensiek.
Scholarships
awarded
Thirty-six of the Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School Class of 2009 received scholarships. The recipients, with their future plans, are:
Grant Aden: Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa: Morningside Athletic Award for track and field and cross country, $5,000 a year for four years; Morningside Art Award, $4,000 a year for four years; $2,000 Mustang Co-Curricular Award; $2,000 Morningside Travel Award; $750 Morningside Academic Competitiveness Award; $300 Ruby Lorraine Paul Memorial Scholarship from the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Nebraska; $250 St. John’s Lutheran Church Bruce Hillman Memorial Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Chapter of Dollars for Scholars (DFS) Scott Nisely Memorial Scholarship; $400 Syracuse Area Jaycees Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Alumni Scholarship; $200 Syracuse Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) Scholarship and $250 Syracuse Journal-Democrat Journalism Scholarship.
Dylan Bartling: Doane College, Crete: $17,000 a year for four years Doane Ed Pallett Special Ability Scholarship for football and $500 St. John’s United Church of Christ (UCC) Scholarship.
Traci Bassinger: University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL): $1,000 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship; $200 Preceptor Tau Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Scholarship and $250 Countryside Bank Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Scholarship.
Kayla Bazer: Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, Mo.: $4,000 a year for four years Missouri Western President’s Academic Scholarship; Missouri Western’s Neighboring States Award, Out of State Tuition Waiver and $1,000 National Conference of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Practitioners and the American Institute of CPA’s Scholarship.
Kaci Beckmann: UNL.: $1,000 UNL’s James Canfield Scholarship; about $500 Alma Brehm Scholarship and $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Endowment Grant.
Josh Bennett: Dana College, Blair: $4,000 a year for four years Dana A.M. Anderson Award; $1,000 a year for four years Dana Student Award and $6,000 a year for four years Dana Wrestling Scholarship.
Kylea Block: Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU), Lincoln: $6,000 a year for four years Wesleyan President’s Scholarship; $1,500 a year for four years Wesleyan Founders Scholarship; $1,750 Wesleyan Student Award; $1,000 a year for four years Nebraska Methodist Scholarship $750 Federal Academic Competitiveness Award and $200 Unadilla Community Library Scholarship.
Kyle Boyle: York College: $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Endowment Grant.
Lynn Buchholz: Southeast Community College (SCC) at Milford: $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Endowment Grant; $150 Lori Buchholz Memorial Scholarship and $1,000 Johnny Baxter Carriage House Foundation Scholarship.
Brett Copley: Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU), Maryville, Mo.: $2,360 a year NWMSU Midwest Student Exchange Program Award; $2,000 a year for for years NWMSU Academic Excellence Scholar Award; $1,000 NWMSU Harvey and Joyce White Scholarship; $475 NWMSU Bearcat Award; $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Endowment Grant; $250 Tyler Clabo Memorial Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship; $250 Jerry Jamison Memorial Scholarship and $500 American Legion Massie-Richards Post No. 100 and its Auxiliary and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post No. 5547 and its Auxiliary Scholarship.
Katie Dettmer: Dana College: $4,000 a year for four years Dana Academic Achievement Award; $1,500 a year for four years Dana A.M. Anderson Award; $1,000 a year for four years Dana’s Lutheran Student Award; $10,000 a year for four years Dana Volleyball Scholarship; $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Endowment Grant; $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Kirchhoff-Minderman Scholarship and $650 First Lutheran Church Koester Scholarship.
Brandon Essink: UNL: $500 UNL Agricultural Economics FBLA Scholarship; $1,000 The Orscheln Farm & Home Industries Foundation Scholarship; $500 a year for up to four years Syracuse Collection Point, Inc. Scholarship; $500 St. John’s UCC Scholarship; $500 RB Warren Scholarship; $200 Otoe County Extension Board and 4-H Scholarship; $1,000 Paul Stephen American Morgan Horse Institution Scholarship and $500 Order of the Eastern Star Scholarship.
Kelby Goering: UNL: $250 Xi Beta Lambda Scholarship; $1,000 UNL James Canfield Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Otto and Carmen Wellensiek Scholarship; $200 Syracuse Area Jaycees Scholarship; $500 St. John’s UCC Scholarship; $200 Syracuse Snoflakers Scholarship and $200 Syracuse VFD Scholarship.
Tyler Hawkins: NWU: $9,000 a year for four years Wesleyan Scholar Award.
Matt Hickman: Hastings College: $7,500 a year for for years Hastings Academic Scholarship and $2,300 a year for four years Hastings Athletic Scholarship for football.
Ellie Jacobson: University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO): $360 Dr. Herbert H. Fechner Scholarship.
Aaron Kempkes: UNL: $1,000 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship.
Jackie Kreifels: UNL: $1,000 UNL James Canfield Scholarship; $500 Maynard Jensen American Legion Memorial Scholarship; $400 Luther Memorial Service Scholarship; $100 Sunday school attendance award and $200 Syracuse Friends of the Library Scholarship.
Alexa Krieger: UNO: $1,000 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship; $250 Beta Chi Sorority Scholarship and $200 Syracuse VFD Scholarship.
Alex Landwehr: UNO: $500 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship and $150 Zeta Omicron Chapter of Beta Sigma Phil Sorority Scholarship.
Kirsten Lewis: UNL: $1,000 UNL James Canfield Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship; $500 R.Robert Dale Nebraska/Western Iowa Moose Scholarship; $200 Unadilla Community Library Scholarship; Nebraska Army National Guard 100 percent state tuition assistance and $500 American Legion Massie-Richards Post No. 100 and its Auxiliary and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post No. 5547 and its Auxiliary Scholarship.
Jacob Manley: UNL: about $500 Alfred Brehm Scholarship and $1,000 UNL J&M Schleiger Scholarship.
Tawni Mounce: Columbia College, Chicago: $100 Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge No. 57 Scholarship.
Andy Neels: NWU: $6,000 a year for four years Wesleyan’s Presidents Scholar Award and $200 Syracuse Area Jaycees Scholarship.
Emily Reed: Doane College: $5,000 a year for four years Doane Community Award; $4,000 a year for four years Doane Student Award for track and field; $750 Doane Academic Competitiveness Award; $500 Doane Family Award; $300 Ron and Mary Ann Wenninghoff Scholarship; $1,000 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship and $500 Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca Education Association Scholarship.
Mitch Ross: UNL: $1,000 UNL College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Alumni Scholarship and $250 Otoe County Farmers Inc. Scholarship.
Samantha Scheinost: SCC-Lincoln: $500 Southeast’s First Generation Scholarship.
Alex Seelhoff: NWU: $7,500 a year for four years Wesleyan Fredstrom Scholar Award; $2,500 a year for four years Wesleyan Founders Scholarship; $1,000 a year for four years Wesleyan Endowed Scholarship; $1,500 a year for four years Wesleyan Student Award; $1,000 Syracuse Chapter of DFS First National Bank Scholarship and $300 Ervin and Ruth Gellerman Foundation Scholarship.
Hillary Stubbendick: UNL: $150 First Lutheran Church, North Branch, Avoca, Endowment Grant; $150 Lori Buchholz Memorial Scholarship and $200 S-D-A FBLA Scholarship.
Abbey Thoms: SCC-Lincoln: $500 Syracuse Lions Scholarship.
Thomas Volkmer: UNO: About $7,000 a year for four years UNO football scholarship with full room and board and $250 Dr. C.R. Williams Memorial Scholarship.
Rachel Watermeier: UNL: $1,000 Samsung American Legion Scholarship; UNL Regents Scholarship with full tuition for four years; $1,500 a year for four years UNL Top Scholar Scholarship; $500 a year for four years UNL Honors Program Textbook Scholarship; $1,000 Harold Kramer Memorial Scholarship; $400 Luther Memorial Service Scholarship; $100 Sunday school attendance award and $250 Countryside Bank FBLA Scholarship.
Louise Wellensiek: UNL: $1,000 UNL James Canfield Scholarship; $400 Luther Memorial Service Scholarship; $100 Sunday school attendance award; $200 Steve Watermeier Memorial Scholarship; $500 Syracuse Chapter of DFS Class Challenge Scholarship and Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation Scholarship, tuition and fees up to $3,200 per semester and $400 for books per semester for four years.
Jacob Welter: NWU: $4,500 a year for four years Wesleyan Recognition Scholarship.
Scott Wiebusch: Central Community College-Hastings: value in excess of $10,000 Nebraska Machine/CAT Sponsorship Program Scholarship and $200 Syracuse VFD Scholarship.
Emily Zahn: UNL: UNL Regents Scholarship with full tuition for four years; $1,500 a year for four years UNL Top Scholar Scholarship; $500 a year for four years UNL Honors Program Textbook scholarship; $500 St. John’s UCC Scholarship and $1,000 Burr Rescue Squad, Inc. Scholarship.
