November 20, 2018

Huskers offer scholarships to 600-plus Omaha-area teens

Jackson Wu-Pong (right) talks with an Omaha-area family prior to the Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program on Nov. 18. The event celebrated the achievement of more than 600 high school students from around Omaha.
Melissa A. Krejci | For Admissions

Melissa A. Krejci | For Admissions
Jackson Wu-Pong (right) talks with an Omaha-area family prior to the Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program on Nov. 18. The event celebrated the achievement of more than 600 high school students from around Omaha.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln recognized the achievements of more than 600 Omaha-area high school students at the 15th anniversary of the Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program on Nov. 18 at the CHI Health Center.

The Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program celebrates a diverse group of students for their accomplishments in a variety of areas while encouraging them to imagine a vision of their future that includes attending Nebraska. To show these young leaders that attending Nebraska is possible, every student in attendance was presented with a certificate and a guarantee to receive a tuition scholarship offer in the amount of at least $1,000 to the university for the 2019-2020 academic year.

“The contributions these scholars are making to their community take grit, and in return we want to demonstrate our commitment to these young leaders,” said Abby Freeman, director of admissions. “I look forward to seeing many of these students on campus next fall.”

Chancellor Ronnie Green addresses students and families during the Nov. 18 event at CHI Health Center in Omaha.
Melissa A. Krejci | For Admissions
Chancellor Ronnie Green addresses students and families during the Nov. 18 event at CHI Health Center in Omaha.

Each year school counselors and community leaders nominate students with accomplishments worthy of recognition. Due to overwhelming response this year, the program was expanded to include those beyond the historically underserved populations. To enhance service to students while maintaining a commitment to students of all backgrounds, the event featured two programs: one for first-generation college students, and another for students whose parents attended college.

To help guide students’ continued success during their first year of college, all first-generation students in attendance were guaranteed a spot in the Emerging Leaders program. Through direct connections with inspiring campus leaders and individualized academic success coaching from dedicated staff in the Office of First-Year Experience and Transition Programs, the Emerging Leaders program helps students build an inclusive support network.

For the students whose parents attended college, this is an opportunity to imagine campus life and look for ways to get involved. The event was intended to help these students feel comfortable on campus and show them that everyone can find their fit at Nebraska.

Each program at the event included remarks from Chancellor Ronnie Green and Executive Vice Chancellor Donde Plowman. The program for the first-generation students heard from keynote speaker Danielle Davis, Nebraska alumna (2003), and student speaker, Elaidy Dblanco. The program for the students whose parents attended college heard from keynote speaker, Amber Williams, assistant vice chancellor of enrollment management; and student speaker, Andrea Trejo Hernandez.

Featuring student speakers who share their campus experiences is a new addition to the program.

“Some students come to Nebraska thinking they have to figure everything out on their own,” Williams said. “But we want them to know that we pull together to share challenges and to do big things — whether that’s supporting them as they pursue your bachelor’s degree, giving them opportunities to do real hands-on research to help solve the world’s pressing problems, or helping them prepare for a great career after graduation.”

Family members talk with media following the Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program. All students received a guarantee for a tuition scholarship offer for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Melissa A. Krejci | For Admissions
Family members talk with media following the Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program. All students received a guarantee for a tuition scholarship offer for the 2019-2020 academic year.

The students honored at the Nebraska Achievement Recognition Program, alphabetically by high school:

Bellevue East:

  • Jovany Bustamante-Gonzalez
  • Anthony Duffy
  • Jenna Hollandsworth
  • Ashley Hudson
  • Ryan Karl
  • Triston Letchworth-Scott
  • Graham McVicker
  • Skye Rodgers-Bell
  • Meagan Werner
  • Maximus Wold

Bellevue West:

  • Jaqueline Armas
  • Ajay Cullen
  • Jacob Denton
  • Tiffany Domingo
  • Jared Echternach
  • Sienna Franks
  • Sean Garton
  • Andrea Gonzalez
  • Madeleine Grimm
  • Nathan Hawkins
  • Isaiah Hazzard
  • Savannah Householder
  • Jenna Jaworski
  • Andrew Liberty
  • Rebecca Martin
  • Payton Moreno
  • Mia Pancoe
  • Paige Perrone
  • Kei’lah Sadler
  • Michael Smilko
  • Abigail Smith
  • Alexander Spaduzzi
  • Hannah Steadman
  • Hannah Stone
  • Trevor Thomas
  • Alexander Toth
  • Cordelia Upchurch
  • Michelle Zavala Castro

Benson:

  • Rayven Culliver
  • Micah Dunwoody
  • Salma Hernandez
  • Mitchell Jackson
  • Gabriela Kermoade
  • Jahleal Lee
  • Chloe Mantell
  • Luvenia Robinson
  • Anique Wair

Bryan:

  • Madison Brewer
  • Josephine Garcia
  • Efren Gonzalez-Ortega
  • Samuel Gregory
  • Jose Jimenez-Lora
  • Mark Lopez
  • Adriana Martinez
  • Jordan Muro-Ramirez
  • Lamondre Perkins
  • Kevin Salazar
  • Xitlally Velasco-Urrutia

Burke:

  • Haley Bassett
  • Ashley Blimling
  • Makenah Bourn
  • Haley Brezack
  • Annabell Burrell
  • Colin Campin
  • Kyla Channita
  • Chakena Clark Joseph
  • Matthew Cogua
  • Kalecia Davis
  • Sanjaya Dhakal
  • Destiny-Diamond Dosseh
  • T’Andre Ford
  • Melani Ibarra
  • Nolan Irwin
  • Noah Kenoyer
  • Elijah Merritt
  • Ariana Munoz
  • Emily Pietrzak
  • Makayla Pollock
  • Sajal Risal
  • Matthew Silver
  • Catherine Wilson
  • Zakariya Yusuf

Concordia:

  • David Cook
  • Coleton Kanzmeier

Creighton Prep:

  • Joseph Brennan
  • Richard Evans
  • Jacob Fischer
  • Kyle Haddick
  • Jack Johnson
  • Kondi Koumaka
  • Henry Lewis
  • Thomas Lukaszewicz
  • John Markus
  • Mark Mausbach
  • Daniel Noon
  • Kameron Saadat
  • Jordan Sauer
  • Darryl York

Duchesne Academy:

  • Clara Marx

Elkhorn:

  • Andrew Albritton
  • Joselyn Amezcua
  • Jewlie Bedel
  • Jessica Conrad
  • Abraham Davila
  • Ryan Leyda
  • Jessica Lockner
  • April Mull
  • Makena Ninete
  • Brett Swanson
  • Kelsey Tabbert
  • Jacob Vyhlidal
  • Connor Wieseman

Elkhorn South:

  • Lexi Bay
  • Dylan Bay
  • Sophia Berglund
  • Hadleigh Carson
  • Mary Foster
  • Jessica Johnson
  • Emily Lenser
  • Matthew Litjen
  • Nick Mancuso
  • David Meisgeier
  • Lauren Murphy
  • Alex Page
  • Lydia Paulsen
  • Christopher Rasmussen
  • Katherine Schmidt
  • Samir Sedky
  • Jenna Stevens
  • Connor Thompson
  • Brandon Thompson
  • Tauhni Willenborg
  • Ashley Wyzinski
  • Kelsey Zach

Gross Catholic:

  • Angelique Fuentes
  • Justin Kaczmarek
  • Meg McCoy
  • Graham Meyer
  • Maria Mwita
  • Benjamin Yanovich

Home school:

  • Esther Faronbi
  • Josiah Kolar
  • Emma L’Heureux
  • Joel Myers
  • Christina Pierre

Marian:

  • Lucia Bazis
  • Berkley Beene
  • Elizabeth Fangman
  • Bailey Hanus
  • Jordan Hatcher
  • Monica Huse
  • Mariana Inciarte-Balza
  • Caressa Jones
  • Maeve Kelly
  • Audrey Laney
  • Kaji Loro

Mercy:

  • Sydney Harvat
  • Emma Nebel
  • Maggie Reinard
  • Allison Vana
  • Jordan Winquest

Millard North:

  • Haziq Akhter
  • Peyton Allee
  • Lauren Breed
  • Ma’Kiya Carter
  • Francisco De Anda
  • Elizabeth Eason
  • Adam Einsel
  • Gracie Fagan
  • Aiden Girthoffer
  • Sadie Gradoville
  • Peyton Hainline
  • Kaitlyn Hill
  • Ellisa Jaeke
  • Lauren Jirovsky
  • Madeline Larson
  • Andrew Lunde
  • Ryan Mack
  • Molly Mcgraw
  • Jacob Meade
  • Alexis Miller
  • Mckenzie Nelson
  • Megan Paustian
  • Truman Perrault
  • Megan Pfeifer
  • Praveen Rao
  • Nolan Rinn
  • Carli Rush
  • Sara Segal
  • Haley Steiner
  • Jaidin Tresemer
  • Elizabeth Vinckier
  • Benjamin Weber
  • Jordan West

Millard South:

  • Kaitlyn Baker
  • Carter Browne
  • Abigail Brundrett
  • Seanda Cortez
  • Michael Earnest
  • Nolan George
  • Maddison Hamilton
  • Jayden John
  • Camden Jones
  • Lauren Linton
  • Alana McKee
  • Grant Mckinley
  • Destini Morales
  • Bailey Purcell
  • Melany Smith
  • Jackson Towne
  • Brenna Towne

Millard West:

  • Lauren Anderson
  • Andrew Bizal
  • Seth Brokaw
  • Benjamin Copeland
  • Anna Dukart
  • Brianna Durand
  • Jacob Ensz
  • Makena Foley
  • Chanley Forst
  • Elise Fricke
  • Gracyn Green
  • Joseph Hajduch
  • Rebekah Hitz
  • Megan Holck
  • Ryan Hruby
  • Michael Ilg
  • Taylor Kampschnieder
  • Caitlin Kaup
  • Jarrett Klein
  • Taylor Kucks
  • Nathan Lemon
  • Riley Macy
  • Graycen Marquart
  • Ryan Michel
  • Aaron Mittlieder
  • Reagan Newsome
  • Adrienne Nielsen
  • Adrian Nissen
  • Tessa Nuismer
  • Ryan Nyffeler
  • Makayla Reavis
  • Michael Roberts
  • Zarah Sagheer
  • Kalen Samples
  • Kenzie Sawyer
  • Austin Shelton
  • Amy Sikora
  • Brenton Stonacek
  • Aliya Underwood
  • Macey Van Ackeren
  • Bethany Vawter
  • Tyler Vondra
  • Madeline Wederquist
  • Brandon Zohlen

Omaha Central:

  • Ashari Allen
  • Elizabeth Anderson
  • Marisa Antunez
  • Taylor Arnold
  • Doug Brown
  • Diondra Butler
  • Carolina Castro
  • Annique Clark
  • Taurus Dismuke
  • Deja’nae Donaldson Young
  • Anne Gallagher
  • Ana Garcia-Ozuna
  • Shelby Goodman
  • Amya Harris-Harper
  • Lizbeth Hermosillo Najar
  • Kayla Johnson
  • Nicholas Krivanek
  • Benjamin Lane
  • Lucia Morales-Torrez
  • Natalie Murillo
  • Marisa Perez-Durham
  • Stephany Pinzon-Perez
  • Desiree Redick
  • Ashley Rocha
  • Colin Suey
  • Jocelyn Townsend
  • Elaine Velez
  • Stephanie Verdin
  • Benjamin Wichert
  • Somer Young

Omaha Christian Academy:

  • Kylie Lundquist
  • Cole White

Omaha North:

  • Deziray Abram
  • Nilah Alhejaj
  • Sanjaya Bolton
  • Gino Brisby
  • Adrianna Burns
  • Mshayia Carter
  • Tevin Conley
  • Citlali Dorantes-Monrreal
  • Ozborne Eckhorn
  • Jacob Gardner
  • Da’Von George
  • Timothy Gibbons
  • India Grayson-Pattar
  • Alexandra Griswold
  • Emma Hansen
  • Natalie Hausman
  • Angel Hayden
  • Danya Horne
  • Logan Hudnall
  • Lewis Kirke
  • Steven Krawczyk
  • Noah Landis
  • Ilyas Lucas-Anderson
  • Morgan Messel
  • Eliana Nichols
  • Bryan Perez Ochoa
  • Gabrielle Push
  • Christopher Ramsey
  • Destiny Reick
  • Molly Schmeits
  • Tyvon Smith
  • Nadia Spurlock
  • Jon Stanton
  • Jerome Thomas-Glass
  • Ja’Sia Ward
  • Maraya White
  • Clarence Whitner
  • Timothy Williams

Omaha Northwest:

  • Alejandra Arellano
  • Levi Carpenter
  • Jamesha Lyons
  • Emmanuel Okamkpa
  • Madyson Pollock
  • Raul Ramos-Guevara
  • Paige Rank
  • Makenna Smith

Omaha South:

  • Adriana Alvarado-Silva
  • Lilia Alvarez
  • Jocelyn Bocanegra-Rangel
  • Marco Carcamo
  • Jennifer Garcia
  • Gustavo Gochez-Perez
  • Gregorio Hermosillo
  • Vanessa Menjivar
  • Luis Moran-Guzman
  • Laura Perez-Villagomez
  • Daisy Ponce-Herrera
  • Santos Saenz
  • Betsy Sandoval
  • Jasmeene Valadez
  • Xitlaly Valdez
  • Monzeratt Valentin

Papillion-La Vista:

  • Rhiannon Carlile
  • Lauren Chubb
  • Zachary Colbert
  • Alice Flores Cuellar
  • Isabella Haave
  • Peyton Juracek
  • Xuan Ha Le
  • Jack Rollin
  • Nolan Stengel
  • Delani Watkins
  • Eric Withee

Papillion-La Vista South:

  • Bryan Adcock
  • Nicole Bender
  • Isaac Bernhagen
  • Olivia Bland
  • Anna Callison
  • Balin Conley
  • Gracie Davis
  • Emma Farson
  • Grace Farson
  • Adrian Garcia De Abreu
  • Abby Goss
  • Izabelle Landon
  • Stella Lepkowski
  • Stephan Mccarty
  • Sierra Mcmains
  • Samuel Miller
  • Jace Miller
  • Leah Seiffert
  • Madison Sides
  • Andrea Solomon
  • Petra Ulrich
  • Eli Werner

Ralston:

  • Michelle Barragan-Lopez
  • Samantha Callen
  • James Evans
  • Jazmin Gomez
  • Wendy Hernandez-Cano
  • Margarita Homan
  • Gabriel James
  • William Roarty
  • Michelle Saqui Cortes
  • Sierra Sommer
  • Daniel Ulrich
  • Giselle Valadez

Roncalli Catholic:

  • Marykate Carney
  • Sophia Carpenter
  • Hailey Greenwood
  • Braydon Lemmon
  • Margaret Murphy

Skutt Catholic:

  • Samantha Anderson
  • Luke Bennett
  • Hayden Chaney
  • Jarod Epperson
  • Kierstene Frye
  • Allison Glantz
  • Anna Johnson
  • Mia LeRiger
  • Samuel Moylan
  • Edward Okosi
  • Martin Weiler

Westside:

  • Pravas Acharya
  • Ethan Fox
  • Elijah Gifford
  • Tyson Guzman
  • Gabrielle Hayford
  • Erik Henry
  • Alyssa Huie
  • Cami Ludwig
  • Jazmyne Mattan-Littrell
  • Brianna Miller
  • Elizabeth Robinson
  • Tierney Schirmer
  • Stephanie Sommers
  • Katelynn Standfill
  • Elizabeth Thomas
  • Daniel Vermillion
  • Bailey Wilson