QCESC Scholarship Recipients 2023
Paul Schwartz, Bettendorf High School
$1,000 Iowa State University
Paul Schwartz is a senior at Bettendorf High School with an unweighted GPA of 3.978 and an ACT score of 32. He has maintained a top 15 class ranking throughout his years of high school, taking many AP and honors courses, and was also awarded the Academic Letter three times. Throughout high school, Paul played golf and basketball for three years and plans to run track for all four years. In track, Paul was awarded a second-team All-Conference place on the 4×800 team his sophomore year and also qualified for state on his 4×800 team his sophomore year. Along with academics and sports during high school, Paul averages 20 hours per week at the Bettendorf Fareway Grocery working in the produce department.
Through his church, Paul has given back to the community by participating in the church altar server program since 2015 and assembling backpacks for the homeless. He has also dedicated time to volunteering at basketball camps training young kids the fundamentals of basketball. In his free time, Paul can be found working out or hanging out with his friends playing sports.
Aspirations: Inspired by the engineering utilized in both his own back injury and his sister’s leg braces, Paul plans to major in mechanical engineering and change lives by applying engineering to everyday activities.
Maura Peters, Pleasant Valley High School
$2,000 University of Iowa
Maura Peters is a senior at Pleasant Valley and has held herself to a high academic standard during the entirety of her high school career. Maura is a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Varsity Volleyball and Golf teams. She earned Academic-Conference Honors in both sports all four years while also being nominated to the Academic All-State Volleyball team in 2022 for her ACT score and GPA. She has taken all engineering courses offered at her high school, in addition to many AP and accelerated courses within the math and science realms.
In November of 2022, Maura made the decision to continue her academic and athletic careers at the University of Iowa. Instead of playing club volleyball as she had done in years past, she decided to shadow various careers within the medical field as well as volunteer in her community. Maura coaches an academy program at Iowa Select Volleyball Club, where young girls immerse themselves in the game and learn all sorts of new skills. Maura enjoys spending time with her family, eating ice cream and babysitting. Her love for children sparked her dream of becoming a pediatric dentist.
Aspirations: Maura looks forward to majoring in biomedical engineering and playing golf at the University of Iowa. After receiving her degree, Maura hopes to attend dental school, complete a residency program, and become a pediatric dentist.
Vincent Stout, Moline High School
$1,000 Morrison Tech
My name is Vincent Stout, and I am a senior at Moline High School. I have been a part of the moline track and cross country team for three of my four years. I participated in the guitar club up until the track season started. I have also helped in the helpdesk at our school for multiple years, both inside and outside of class. I have received the Major letter for my excellence both academically and physically for my senior season of cross country.
I have aspirations to enter the field of cyber security. I want to maintain and secure large networks. My dream job within the cybersecurity field would be working with international defense, and helping our government either through contracting or directly working for one of the national intelligence agencies.
Parker Hann, Sherrard High School
$2,500 University of Wisconsin – Platteville
Parker Hann is a senior at Sherrard High School with a weighted GPA of 4.375. He is a four year high honor roll student, has taken numerous AP and honors courses, and is currently dual enrolled at Black Hawk College. Parker is a member of the National Honor Society and actively volunteers in his community. Over the past four years, he has been on the All School Senate and Class Senates and is currently serving as the Senior Class Senate Vice President. Parker has also participated in Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Track and Field, STEM Robotics Club/First Tech Challenge (FTC), FFA, and Varsity Club.
This fall, Parker plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to pursue a degree in Engineering.
Aspiration: Parker’s dream is to become a Mechanical or Aerospace Engineer with the hopes of making a difference in the world by creating innovative solutions that contribute to the advancement of technology.
Grace O’Melia, Davenport Central High School
$2,500 American Society of Civil Engineers
Grace is a Senior at Davenport Central High School. She carries a weighted GPA of 4.7, driven by completing 3 AP and 4 college courses currently putting her in the top 6% of her class. She is a 4 year plus Honor Roll student, consistently exceling in her classes. She is dual enrolled at Scott Community College and resides on their President’s List. She acquired her Varsity letter through academics and choir.
Grace is a member of the National Honor Society and Modern Woodmen Fraternal Benefit Society. She is a Senior Class Officer and Captain for the school’s cheerleading team. Grace has participated in the women’s choir, school yearbook, played softball. Grace has been recognized by the local Rotary Club and had an opportunity to job shadow at John Deere with various engineers.
When Grace is not attending her school activities she serves younger students as a Sunday School teacher, attends her church youth group, holds a management position at Chick-fil-A over the past two plus years and spends time volunteering in the community.
Between balancing school, sports, activities, and work, Grace enjoys spending time with her friends and family, shopping, listening to music, and giving back to others.
In the fall, Grace plans to attend the University of Wisconsin Platteville to major in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on business.
Aspiration: Grace’s goal is to become a Civil Engineer, learning additional hands-on skills and developing unique ideas to help improve the world, while still giving to others along the way.
Kylee Stark, Rockridge High School
$2,500 American Society of Civil Engineers
My name is Kylee Stark and I go to Rockridge High School. I am currently duel enrolled at BlackHawk college and have been able to maintain a 4.6 weighted GPA throughout high school. I have played golf all four years of school and was team captain my senior year. I have also been a part of my school’s NHS club for two years. Outside of school, I have a part time job at Hyvee and like to volunteer at our local Closet-2-Closet organization. I have volunteered at our local elementary schools with STEM nights that introduce our next generations into the idea of STEM. I plan to attend the University of Iowa for Biomedical Engineering. I hope to one day create new prosthetic devices for paraplegics to enhance their ways of living. My dream is to be able to help my loved ones in the future.
Blaine Engle Stark, Mercer County High School
$2,500 American Society of Civil Engineers
Blaine is a senior at Mercer County High School and ranked in the top ten of my class with a 4.1 weighted GPA. I have been a part of the marching band, concert band, and pep band all four years of high school. I have also been a part of the jazz band for three years and wrestling team for one. This fall, I plan on attending school at Black Hawk Community College then transferring to the University of Illinois to major in Civil Engineering.
Aspiration: I hope to pursue a degree in civil engineering and support our community by improving our infrastructure.
Ainsley Reed, Newman Central Catholic High School
$2,500 National Defense Industrial Association
Ainsley Reed is a senior at Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling, Illinois. She stays active, working at the Sterling Park District’s Westwood Fitness, Sports, & Wellness Center. She is also the Executive Board President of Student Council, as well as a member of Math Team, Science Club, Key Club, Knitters Club, and National Honor Society. She is ranked first in her class with a 4.5 GPA and earned a 35 on the ACT, scoring a 36 on the STEM section of the test. Ainsley is an Illinois State Scholar, AP Scholar, and ImpactLife Student Impact Award recipient. Additionally, Ainsley shadows engineers at the headquarters of Wahl Clipper and volunteers at the Sauk Valley Foodbank. In her limited free time, she enjoys thrifting and playing poker with her friends.
Ainsley has appreciated high school but looks forward to attending a four-year university and majoring in chemical engineering.
Aspiration: Ainsley aspires to go to work every day, unaware of the problems she may encounter, but confident in her ability to solve them. She also wants to normalize women in engineering, by representing not only their intelligence but also their people skills.
Ethan Schultz, Camanche High School
$2000 – Constellation Corporation
Ethan Schultz is a Senior at Camanche High School with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, ranked first in his class. Ethan has consistently worked to challenge himself both inside and outside the classroom. Throughout his high school career, Ethan has taken AP and honors courses and will enter college with 15 college credits completed. Ethan is a four-sport athlete and has experienced great success. Qualifying for state in all four sports: football, bowling, baseball, and track. His dedication to excellence and his ability to motivate his teammates has been another great accomplishment. Ethan has received All State Academic recognition. Ethan is a strong classroom leader. He was inducted into the National Honor Society as a freshman and elected President of NHS his senior year. Ethan is active in volunteering in both his school and church community. While in grade school, Ethan participated in First Lego League. Sheryl Kennedy, Camanche Elementary TAG teacher, works with her students on an innovative project, core values, robot design, and performance every year, which ignited Ethan’s passion for seeking a career in engineering. Ethan and his team competed in several state competitions and even had the opportunity to attend FFL Worldwide.
Ethan plans to attend Iowa Central Community College to finish his general education classes and fulfill the electrical engineering major then transfer to Iowa State University.
Aspirations: Ethan aspires to complete his degree as an electrical engineer with a plan of working at a corporation in the Quad Cities. Inspired at a young age to pursue a career in STEM, my goal would be to do the same through volunteering in my community.
Nate Strandberg, Sherrard High School
$2,000 Society of American Military Engineers
Nate Strandberg is a senior at Sherrard High School with a 4.29 GPA. He is a National Honor Society member and serves as a “driver” and builder on the Sherrard TiGears FIRST Robotics Competition Team. He enjoys volunteering through Royal Neighbors Chapter 20080, where he has done various park cleanups, cooked and delivered food for Meals on Wheels, and many other community service projects.
In the fall, Nate will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he will be majoring in Environmental Engineering with a minor in Sustainable and Renewable Energy Systems.
Aspirations: Nate plans to pursue a career in the sustainable energy field, aiding the change to renewable energy.
Cale Curry, North Scott High School
$1,500 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Cale Curry is a senior at North Scott High School with an unweighted 4.0 GPA. He is dual enrolled at Scott Community College and on their President’s List. In his freshman year, he qualified for the biliteracy seal in Spanish. He is very passionate about the subject areas of math and science. He will have completed all math requirements for engineering at Iowa State when he graduates this spring. Throughout high school, Cale has participated in activities including, soccer, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, youth group, and a Bible study.
Cale will attend Iowa State University for a degree in mechanical engineering.
Aspiration: Cale’s aspiration is to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering that will allow him to work in the agriculture field.
Landen Freeman, Davenport North High School
$1,500 IEEE Iowa Illinois Section
Landen Freeman is a senior at Davenport North High School. He is involved with many of the student groups at North, assuming many leadership responsibilities and being passionate about environmentalism and volunteerism. Academically, Landen has dedicated his time to several Advanced Placement (AP) courses and even some higher level math courses at Scott Community College. He often spends his free time “playing with math ideas.”
Landen captained North’s Science Bowl team to place top 12 at the Iowa Regional High School Science Bowl this January. In his free time, Landen attends study sessions with AP Calculus and AP Biology students to keep their skills sharp. When he isn’t doing school work or studying, Landen writes songs with his guitar, plays Rocket League, and writes backstories for Dungeons and Dragons characters. He was recognized as a QuestBridge Finalist in October of 2022, and has intentions of attending a 4-year private university (undecided) to double major in mathematics and environmental justice. He’s also interested in French language and culture, biology, and physics, and may pursue a minor in those fields.
Aspiration Statement: Landen aspires to be a research mathematician and university professor. Along his journey to such a lofty goal, Landen hopes to inspire others and contribute to environmental causes such as the fight against climate change.
Kyleia Salyars, Muscatine High School
$1,000 Quad City Engineering and Science Council Community College
Kyleia Salyars is a senior at Muscatine High School with a 4.07 GPA. She has maintained 15th in her class out of 359 students and is a member of the National Honor Society, completing 2 AP classes and dual-enrolling in many college classes through Muscatine Community College. Outside of academics, Kyleia has played softball all five years, and volleyball all four years and placed 4th at the softball state tournament in 2020 and 3rd at the softball state tournament in 2022. Throughout her athletic career, she has received many accolades including Honorable Mention, All-Academic Team, First-Team All-Conference, and all-Metro Catcher. Kyleia plans to play softball at the collegiate level at DMACC. Kyleia is also involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has served as a youth group leader at her church for 6th grade girls. Kyleia was selected to partner with HON Corporation to design the new student center at her high school. She was selected as the interior designer out of the 10 students selected for the project and she met with HON members every week throughout this process to create a space to meet the studying and workspace needs of all students in her school. Throughout this project, Kyleia was a large part in picking the furniture and finishes for the space, along with taking on the leadership role with one other student to present their idea to the Muscatine School Board and Mayor, Brad Bark. Kyleia Plans to major in Architecture and minor in Interior Design at Iowa State University after attending DMACC for 1-2 years.
Aspiration Statement:
Kyleia plans to be a Residential Architect in Iowa. She enjoys creating floor plans and visuals for new homes, and also considers doing floorplans for other buildings like schools and businesses. She hopes to minor in interior design because she enjoys the process of developing designs and picking finishes for homes that bring them to life and matches each individual’s style and personality. She plans to accomplish her goals by going to a 2-year to get her general education classes done and then transfer to Iowa State University for their architecture and design program.
Marcus Blount, Prince of Peace Catholic School
$1,000 Quad City Engineering and Science Council Community College
My name is Marcus Blount and I am a senior at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Clinton Ia. Some of the things I like to do are sports. In school I participate in soccer, basketball, cross country, track, yearbook and National Honor Society. I also like to golf and go to sporting events in my free time.
Aspiration! I plan to obtain an education in software engineering and to pursue this career path to be able to help solve real world problems.
Ethan Mattes, Muscatine High School
$2,500 Quad City Engineering and Science Council
Ethan Mattes is a senior at Muscatine High School. Ethan is an Eagle Scout, a member of the National Honor Society and a recipient of the Giles Joslyn Youth Initiative Award. He has been very active in FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and serves as a sub team captain of the Muscatine Fire Island Robotics FRC team that went to the world championship in 2022. Ethan has also been an active volunteer for Rebuilding Muscatine. Ethan is currently employed with Stanley Consultants as a work based intern. In Ethan’s spare time he enjoys restoring classic vehicles. He plans on attending Iowa State for a degree in agricultural engineering.
Aspirations: Ethan’s dream job would be to work in a test lab environment and help with the improvement of large scale agricultural equipment.related careers.
Caleb Brand, Pleasant Valley High School
$2,500 Quad City Engineering and Science Council
Caleb Brand is a senior at Pleasant Valley High School. Throughout his years in high school, Caleb has maintained a weighted GPA of 4.345. Caleb has achieved academic honors in all four high school years and has been inducted into the National Honor Society. In his free time, Caleb spends a lot of time playing music. A dedicated member of PV’s orchestra and a section leader in PV’s band, much of Caleb’s time is spent practicing or performing. He is an avid member of his high school robotics program, helping start a new FIRST Tech Challenge team and a new FIRST Robotics Challenge team and co-captaining his team to state. He also helps mentor FIRST Lego League teams in the area. Over the summer, he spends his time volunteering for different organizations. He has helped with several Cub Scout summer camps, robotics summer camps, band camps, and summer school. In school, Caleb spends time in several engineering and manufacturing classes. Through these classes, he has learned vital skills in the fields of engineering and manufacturing that have allowed him to make smarter decisions when designing. These classes have also taught him just how fun engineering can be, which is why he plans to attend Iowa State University in the fall to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
Aspiration: Caleb wishes to use a degree in mechanical engineering to enter the field of robotics, so he can help further the advancement of science worldwide.
Caroline Corcoran, Pleasant Valley High School
$2,500 Jeffrey Richland Memorial Scholarship
Caroline Corcoran is a Senior at Pleasant Valley High School with a weighted GPA of 4.5. She is a member of the National Honor Society and has enjoyed expanding her perspective while taking numerous AP and Honors classes. She has earned her seal of biliteracy in Spanish and earned STEM innovator credits though the STEM innovator program. She has been awarded numerous academic excellence awards during her time in High School.
Caroline is an Assistant Captain of the Sparkle Effect cheer team which fosters inclusion and equality for students with and without disabilities. She is a Captain of the Pleasant Valley Football Varsity cheer team, made the All-American cheer team, and was selected as an alternate for the All-State cheer team. She was selected as the Most Valuable Player two years in a row for Varsity cheer. She also cheers on the Pleasant Valley Competition cheer team and runs track. She is the Multimedia Manager for her school newspaper, the Spartan Shield, where she enjoys growing her writing skills.
Her volunteer activities include Introduce a Girl to Engineering events where she shares her love for math and science with children. She also enjoys volunteering for child watch at the Coram Deo church and serving meals to the disadvantaged at Café on Vine.
In the fall, Caroline plans to attend a four-year university and pursue a major in Biosciences Engineering.
Aspirations: Caroline plans to develop technologies that can improve the quality of life for others and help people solve the problems that keep them from feeling included. She hopes to be part of research and design for prosthetic or artificial limb development. She also hopes to improve communication technologies for those with speech, hearing, or cognitive disabilities.