Apr 14

Written by: ngreditor
4/14/2010 2:13 PM 

Wiese awarded Legacy Scholarship

The Peter Kiewit Foundation announced Olivia Wiese as one of the 50 recipients of its Peter Kiewit Legacy Scholarship Program Awards for 2010. Olivia is a senior at Newman Grove High School. Her parents are Steve and Missy Wiese. Grandparents are Joe and Kate Knust of Petersburg & Lyle and Germaine Krueger of Norfolk.

The winners were chosen from more than 600 high school seniors throughout Nebraska who applied for the scholarship last fall. Each student will receive a four-year scholarship worth $30,000. The scholarship provides $7,500 per year and is renewable for up to four consecutive years of study at a regionally accredited public or private four-year college in Nebraska if the student maintains a 3.0 minimum grade point average.

The scholarship winners were selected by an independent panel of judges who considered class rank, character, ACT/SAT scores, essays and financial need. High school seniors who are Nebraska residents, rank in the top 20% of their graduating class, and who are on schedule to graduate this school year from a Nebraska high school were eligible to apply.

The Foundation created this scholarship program in 2004 to recognize students who exhibit academic initiative and ability to encourage them to continue their education in Nebraska.

This scholarship program honors the legacy of the late Peter Kiewit, (1900-1979). He was a native Omahan and was proud of his Nebraska heritage. “Mr. Kiewit completed only one year of college due to his family’s financial limitations,” said Lyn Wallin Ziegenbein, The Foundation’s executive director. “But he was a lifelong learner and believed that education was the strongest asset a person can possess; one that pays dividends throughout life” she said.

The Peter Kiewit Foundation was created in 1979 from Mr. Kiewit’s personal estate at the time of his death. The Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $465 million to non-profit organizations and communities throughout Nebraska and western Iowa. The Peter Kiewit Foundation is a private philanthropic trust. It is not connected legally or administratively with the operating companies which also bear Peter Kiewit’s name.

Copyright ©2010 Newman Grove Reporter