Media Contact Joe Poelker
314-525-4005
Release Date: 07/14/2017 By St. Anthony’s Medical Center
Hard work and dedication are paying off for 20 students who have earned college scholarships from the Boniface Foundation (formerly St. Anthony’s Medical Center Foundation) in partnership with the St. Louis Community Foundation.
The Boniface Foundation awarded $151,000 in new scholarships through two programs to 20 students who are the children of St. Anthony’s co-workers. Another 40 students are eligible to renew their scholarships for the upcoming school year. The scholarships may be applied for an undergraduate degree in any field of study.
Of the 20 recipients, 16 of them received Norbert Siegfried Scholarships for Sons and Daughters of Employees. In addition to being the children of St. Anthony’s co-workers, these students had to qualify academically, write strong essays, receive recommendations, and demonstrate financial need. The scholarship program is named in honor of Norbert Siegfried, one of the founding fathers of St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s board of directors and a former longtime board chairman.
The four other recipients received Boniface Foundation Academic Excellence Scholarships. These children of St. Anthony’s co-workers have exemplary academic records and demonstrate St. Anthony’s values of excellence through teamwork and mutual respect, as well as compassion and respect for all persons.
“You put in the effort to get where you are today, and you did it by taking advantage of the support you received from great people like your parents,” said Siegfried. “Your journey continues with another level of support. Keep up the hard work. Keep putting in the time and effort it takes to succeed. Keep reaching for new goals.”
The St. Louis Community Foundation administers the scholarship program.
“This is a unique program for us,” said Amy Basore Murphy, Director of Scholarships and Donor Services for the St. Louis Community Foundation. “We administer more than a million dollars in scholarships every year, but no other money goes to a program like we see here at St. Anthony’s.”
“The support this program provides to St. Anthony’s families is inspiring, much like the achievements required of these students to earn these honors,” said Murphy.
St. Anthony’s scholarship programs have awarded more than $5 million to 285 students since the program’s inception in 2006.
This year’s recipients of the Norbert Siegfried Scholarships for Sons and Daughters of Employees are: Caleb Burlison from near Fenton, Alyson Cornett from near Cedar Hill, Emily Eckert from Columbia, Ill., Alison Gawedzinski from near Manchester, Belmin Husic from south St. Louis County, Madison Johnson from Collinsville, Ill., Anna Lang from Oakville, Thomas McKenzie from near Festus, Amy O’Neal from south St. Louis County, Alexis Patrick from Green Park, Danielle Scherrer from south St. Louis County, Sarah Scherrer from south St. Louis County, Emily Schraut from south St. Louis County, Emily Shirrell from near High Ridge, Taylor Vaughan from Dupo, Ill., and Meredith Wernig from near Imperial.
This year’s recipients of the Boniface Foundation Academic Excellence Scholarships are: Andrew Finer from Des Peres, Jacob Lear from near Arnold, Hitesh Rai from near Ballwin, and Connor Stierwalt from Waterloo, Ill.
The St. Louis Community Foundation accepted and reviewed the applications and selected the recipients. The scholarships were founded as a way to invest in the future of the children of St. Anthony’s co-workers through education. This program is one of the largest of its kind in the community and one of the best offered by an employer in the St. Louis area