Allen Pratt, Riverdale High School
$2,000 Western Illinois University – Quad Cities Scholarship Plus $40,000 WIU 4 year Scholarship
Allen Pratt is a senior at Riverdale High School. He is tied for first in his class with a grade point average of 4.13 and scored a 30 on his ACT. Allen is a member of his high school band, National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Rotary Interact. He is a three-sport athlete, participating in football, basketball, and baseball. He is a captain on his football and baseball team, he also earned All-Conference honors in football. Allen is an Illinois State Scholar and works as an umpire for youth baseball.
Allen plans to attend Western Illinois University this fall to major in Engineering.
Aspirations: Allen hopes to pursue an engineering career with one of the great companies here at home in the Quad Cities.
Kyle Hoffman, Muscatine High School
$1,000 Iowa State University
Kyle Hoffman is 4th in his class at Muscatine High School, scored 31 on the ACT, and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is currently employed at Reynolds Engineering via Muscatine High School’s Work Based Learning (WBL) program.
Despite completing seven AP courses the past three years, Kyle has made time to be active in cross-country, soccer, track, musicals, participating on a rookie FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team and mentoring two successful FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams. Kyle has served younger students for years as a youth leader at his church.
Two years ago, Kyle founded a non-profit effort “Catapults for Kids and Classrooms!”, raising $11,000 to fund the development and placement of STEM ‘kits’ in each of his home school district’s twelve K-8 sites.
Kyle plans to major in mechanical engineering at Iowa State University beginning this fall.
Aspiration: “Be an engineer that uses ‘the numbers’ but looks beyond ‘the numbers’ to see the people involved!”
Grant Blaskovich, North Scott High School
$2,500 American Society of Civil Engineers
Grant Blaskovich is a senior at North Scott High School and has a 3.8 un-weighted GPA. Grant is an active member of National Honor Society, has played on the high school golf team and soccer team the last 4 years, was involved in the FTC Robotics Club, and enjoys volunteering in the community.
Grant completed the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program last summer through the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. He is currently working as an Intern at Bush Construction in Davenport, Iowa.
Grant will be attending Iowa State University in the fall to major in Construction Engineering.
Aspiration: After earning his engineering degree, Grant plans to work in the Construction Industry furthering the advancement of structures and creating buildings that positively impact communities.
Samuel Norman, Fulton High School
$2,000 Society of Automotive Engineers
Sam is a senior at Fulton High
School in Fulton, IL. He has a GPA of 3.8 and a cumulative ACT score of 25. He is a member of NHS, Science Club, Thespians, and is president of Key Club. He has competed on the swimming and the track team for 4 years. He plans to attend Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI to major in mechanical engineering while continuing to compete on the collegiate level in both sports. He currently helps on the family farm, working with livestock and doing fieldwork. Over the summer he works for the road commissioner. He is a member of his church youth group and has recently traveled to Texas to help with clean up efforts from Tropical Storm Bill. His goal is to come back to this area to use his degree at John Deere in Moline, IL.
Brendon Lee, North Scott High School
$1,000 University of Iowa
Brendon Lee is a senior at North Scott High School. He was an unweighted GPA of 3.96 with an ACT score of 31. Brendon is a four year honor roll student while participating in several dual enrollment classes through EICC. He has played basketball, ran cross country, and ran track for all four years of his high school career. From these sports, Brendon has earned two varsity letters in cross country, two in basketball, and two more in track. He has served as a captain for his varsity boys basketball team during his senior year. He also earned several IHSAA academic awards. Brendon is actively involved in North Scott’s National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) organizations. He is also currently serving on the leadership board of the Teens for Tomorrow grant program.
After high school, he will be attending the University of Iowa to pursue a degree in Energy and Environmental Engineering.
Aspirations: Brendon would like to use his skills in solar energy engineering to help reduce the reliance on fossil fuels in America.
Allyssa Renner, Morrison High School
$1,000 University of Iowa
Ally
ssa Renner, a senior at Morrison High School, is top of her class with a GPA of 4.08 and an ACT score of 30. She is an active member in Student Council, Key Club, and National Honor Society. For the past two years, she has been a leader in BLIND, a program dedicated to community service and helping freshmen adjust to high school. Allyssa has been involved in band, jazz band, and instrumental contests for the past four years. This year, she joined the Advanced Choir and Madrigals program at Morrison High School. She has been a counselor for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp (RYLA) for the past two years. Allyssa has also made time to go on four different mission trips to Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and South Carolina, while also planning to attend a fifth trip to Madison this year. An active member at church, she attends youth group and leads a bible study for the teen girls in her church. Her other interests include piano, swimming, and listening to TED talks.
Next fall, she plans to major in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa.
Aspiration: She hopes to continue her education and receive her Master’s degree at the University of Iowa. For her career aspirations, she hopes to work in a hospital and travel to third world countries in her free time to improve the medical equipment and medicine in those countries.
Zachary Lebel, Sherrard High School
$2,000 Western Illinois University – Quad Cities Scholarship Plus $40,000 WIU 4 year Scholarship
Zachary is a senior at Sherrard
High School with a grade point average of 3.6 and an ACT score of 30. Zachary has participated in Cross Country and Track during all four years of high school. He was Captain of the Cross Country team his senior year. He is an active member of the STEM Club and the Scholastic Bowl Team. He competed in WYSE Testing as well as the QCESC Bridge Building Competition in 2017. Zachary was named an Illinois State scholar. He held two jobs during high school working in the fall for a local pumpkin patch and throughout high school for DW1 Land Trust doing a wide variety of skilled work.
Zachary plans on attending Western Illinois University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.
Aspiration: Zachary plans to become an Industrial Manufacturing Engineer working in the Quad Cities area.
Andy Whiteman, Bettendorf High School
$2,000 Exelon Corporation
Andy Whiteman is a senior at Be
ttendorf High School. He is ranked first in his class with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 and an ACT score of 29.
He has participated in basketball, golf, and baseball where he received first team MAC All-Conference and All-Metro honors. Andy is involved in FTC robotics, jazz band, and National Honor Society at his school. He is also an active member at Redeemer Lutheran Church, volunteering for their youth program. Employed part-time by the Bettendorf Parks Department, he helps run their youth camps and activities.
Andy will be attending Iowa State University this fall and will enter their engineering department, declaring a field at a later date.
Aspirations: Andy hopes to develop new solutions and technologies that will make a difference in people’s lives.
Elisabeth Tarpey, Home Schooled
$1,500 National Association of Women in Constructio
n Plus $1,000 NAWIC Lori Estes Memorial Scholarship
Elisabeth is a homeschooled senio
r with a 4.0 G.P.A. on an unweighted scale and an ACT score of 33. In her senior year, she is taking se
veral dual-credit classes at the community college on the pre-engineering track. Throughout high school, Elisabeth has participated in many extra-c
urricular activities. With a group of friends, she created and participated in a writing group. She also was a part of a member-led bible study. Elisabeth is an active member of two youth groups and with those groups has participated in community service projects. For the past three years, she has volunteered at the Women’s Choice Center by assembling layettes on a monthly basis. In her sophomore year, Elisabeth was a member of Mother of Divine Grace’s Chapter of the National Honor Society. Elisabeth was named a 2017-2018 Illinois State Scholar.
Elisabeth plans to attend the University of Illinois in the fall of 2017 to major in Civil Engineering.
Aspiration: Elisabeth hopes to work as a structural engineer repairing and improving our nation’s water infrastructure.
Adam Burgmeier, North Scott High School
$1,000 Society of American Military Engineers
Ada
m is a senior at North Scott High School. He is the secretary of the National Honor Society and first chair trumpet in the Symphonic Band. Adam earned varsity letters in cross country and track, and is an inducted thespian for the speech team. Adam achieved a 3.79 unweighted GPA and an ACT score of 28. He earned his Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts, completing over one hundred hours of community service along the way. Adam works part time at QC Analytical Services in the laboratory.
Adam plans to attend Bradley University and major in Mechanical Engineering.
Aspirations: Adam hopes to work on projects in the renewable energy field to make them more efficient and affordable.
Trevor Viren, United Township High School
$2,500 University of Wisconsin – Platteville
Trevor Viren is a senior at United
Township High School with a 3.8 GPA. He is a member of Link Crew, Interact Club, and Letterman’s Club. Trevor is also a dedicated cross country and track athlete, earning the 2016-2017 cross country most improved award. He has ran cross country all four years and was varsity for the past three, and has been a part of the track team for three years and was varsity the past two years. He has been employed at Short Hills Country Club for two years, bussing tables.
Trevor plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville this fall to study engineering.
Aspiration: Trevor hopes to graduate from Wisconsin-Platteville with an engineering degree and work to make the Quad Cities a better place.
Bradley Gannon, Central DeWitt High School
$2,000 National Defense Industrial Association
Brad is a senior at Central
DeWitt High School. He has an unweighted GPA of 3.98 with an ACT score of 30.
Brad is a member of the Central DeWitt Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), where he has served as Parliamentarian, Vice President, and currently President. He is also involved in Student Council and National Honor Society. He has played varsity baseball for 4 years, varsity golf for 3 years, and basketball for two years. Outside of school, he has served as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Reporter, and Historian of the Welton Jr. Farmers 4-H Club, where he has been a member for 9 years.
Brad will be attending Iowa State University this fall and majoring in Aerospace Engineering.
Aspiration: After college Brad hopes to design navigation systems for spacecraft or defense aircraft.
Shivani Ganesh, Rivermont Collegiate
$2,500 Quad City Engineering and Science Council
Shivani Ganesh is a senior at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf, Iowa. She attained a 32 on the ACT and has a 3.8 unweighted GPA. From the eighth grade to junior year, Shivani took part in FIRST programs. She has held roles such as head of strategy and robot design and head of marketing in her FTC team, Import*. Outside of the classroom, she has built upon her interest in astronomy by founding her school’s Astronomy Club and studying supernovae with St. Ambrose University faculty. She also plays volleyball, pursues modern Indian dance, and participates in the Political Discussion group. Shivani greatly cherishes volunteering at one of the Arc’s women’s group home, helping individuals with mental and physical disabilities become independent and contributing members of our community.
Although undecided about her choice of university, Shivani plans to major in physics, while fulfilling her interests in social activism.
Aspiration: Shivani hopes to work on interplanetary missions (since they shall most likely be a reality a few decades from now) and study the rapid expansion of the universe.
Gavin Graham, Moline High School
$2,500 Quad City Engineering and Science Council
Gavin Graham is a senior at Moline High School and has a 4.6 GPA, ranked 12th in his class, and had a 28 on the ACT. In high school, Gavin was very active participating in, Soccer, Natural Helpers, Sports unlimited, Chess club, HOSA, club soccer, Jr. Rotarian, was in National Honor Society and volunteered at the boy’s and girl’s club of the Mississippi valley.
Gavin is equally accomplished on the soccer field as he is in the classroom. Over the last 4 years, Gavin was award best sportsmanship, 2x Most Valuable defender, 2x 2nd team all-state, 3rd team academic all-state, 2x metro 1st team, Metro player of the year, and an all-area 1st team award.
Gavin will be attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering.
Aspirations: His senior year, Gavin would like the emphasize in Power and/or communications in order to help develop technology to help pioneer more efficient, alternative energy or develop sensors used in self-driving cars for companies like Tesla.
Emilia Porubcin, Rivermont Collegiate
$1,000 IEEE Iowa-Illinois Section
Emilia Porubc
in is a senior at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf, Iowa. She has been involved in various biological and computational research experiences, and has spoken internationally about lung cancer research. She is the founder of the Pounce Fine Arts Gallery, for which she was named a Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student. She was also named an Illinois State Scholar and a National Merit Finalist. She has held leadership positions in National Honor Society, Student Council, and Bettendorf girls’ varsity tennis, and she has reached state tennis competition every year.
Emilia plans to pursue a degree in Computer Science.
Aspiration: Emilia hopes to use computational tools to enhance humanities education and research.
Brina Kraft, Muscatine High School
$1,000 Iowa State University
Brina Kraft, a senior at Muscatine High School, is 8th in her class with a GPA of 4.25 and an ACT score of 33. Brina is well accomplished in service and leadership and athletics. She is heavily involved in her school’s clubs holding offices in many; Key club Vice president; UNICEF club vice president; Science Club co-president. Brina is a member of Muscatine’s National Honor Society and chosen for the Gifted and Talented Program. Brina has been a four-year honor roll student while earning many college credits through EICC program. She is team captain of the girls’ varsity cross country team and the girls’ varsity track team and a varsity member of Muscatine’s soccer team.
Brina will be attending Iowa State University this fall majoring in Engineering and running for the Cross Country and Track & Field team.
Aspiration: After college Brina would like to use her skills in engineering to make positive changes in the field and motivate younger generations of students to enter STEM engineering.
Eli Gaeta, Alleman High School
$1,000 Iowa State University
Eli Gaeta is a senior at Alleman High School and is ranked 6th in his class with a GPA of 4.61 and an ACT score of 30. He is very active in his school as the President of both National Honor Society and Engineering Club as well as a member of Student Council, Key Club, Sigma Alpha Delta, Pathfinders, Dance Marathon, Foreign Language Club, and Drama Club. Eli is close to becoming an Eagle Scout from Troop 109 in Moline. He has competed as a member of the WYSE team for two years placing first and top scorer in Physics and has twice placed 2nd in Engineering Graphics. Eli has served as a mentor to Seton Middle School’s FIRST Lego League team for 5 years. He has completed more than 1000 hours of volunteer work for various organizations since his Freshman Year and wants to continue serving others in need in his future.
Eli plans to attend Iowa State University to major in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Political Science, Spanish, or Astronomy.
Aspirations: Eli hopes to work for NASA one day to design new systems that will venture into space. After a career in the field, he would like to be a physics or math teacher to inspire curiosity in the youth to come.
Garvin Paper, Davenport West High School
$2,000 St Ambrose University
Garvin Paper, from Walcott, Iowa, is a senior at Davenport West High School. He has a 3.5 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. Garvin was a four year varsity letter winner in golf and made the All Conference Academic Teams his junior and senior years. Garvin was also on the bowling team all four years of high school. He is currently participating in Student Built Home. He has been a member of the Blue Grass 4-H Club since 2008 and a member of the 4-H County Council since 2013. Garvin attended American Legion Boys State in 2016 and plans to return to be a Counselor at Boys State in 2017. He is a volunteer for the Walcott American Legion Post 548 Avenue of Flags project. He is a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church. He works part-time at Hy-Vee. Garvin plans to attend St. Ambrose University to study Mechanical Engineering.
Aspiration:
Evan Nietzel, Bettendorf High School
$1,000 Iowa State University
Evan is a
senior at Bettendorf High School with a 3.8 GPA. He has participatrd in baseball 4 years, Golf 4 years, Basketball Freshmen year. He has been involved in Student Council 4 years, Student Council, Vice presi
dent senior year , NHS member, and 3x Academic letter recipient
He enjoys being outside whether snow skiing, water skiing, hiking, or biking. Always seeking adventure and traveling
He works 3 jobs:anentrepreneur; running lawn and snow removal business, 22 accounts on contract, a men’s clothing store, and respite care for an autistic classmate.
Evan plans to attend Iowa State and is deciding between Mechanical or Materials Engineering, possibly minor in either Sales, Finance, Entrepreneurship, and wants to go on to get MBA
Aspiration: I would love to right out of college work for an automotive company, then later down the road open a firm or do engineering consulting.