Quad Cities Community Foundation proudly announces nearly $225,000 in scholarships to local scholars

Mary Marker credits a renewable scholarship through the Quad Cities Community Foundation with helping her do more than pay for college.

Marker, who spoke at this year's Community Foundation scholarship reception this past weekend at the Quad City Botanical Center, said the $14,000 she will receive over four years thanks to the generosity of donors Ted and Eloise Pfeiff provided accountability in maintaining good grades. It also helped her find what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Marker is currently studying early childhood education with an emphasis in special education at the University of Northern Iowa and will graduate in 2019. She received the Pfeiff scholarship in 2015, as well as the Dearrel Bates Memorial Scholarship that same year.

She returned to the Quad Cities to speak with the 2017 scholarship recipients during the scholarship luncheon in which a total of $223,900 was awarded to 34 local students.

The Ted and Eloise Pfeiff Scholarship is awarded to students majoring in education. The Pfeiffs, who regularly attend the annual scholarship celebration, have been very active in the Quad Cities community since retiring. Ted Pfeiff has served as president of the ACLU and the Quad City World Affairs Council. Together, the couple have been longtime volunteers for a number of organizations.

Marker is incredibly grateful for the scholarship the couple started through the Quad Cities Community Foundation, and hopes to invest back in to the community someday. "I hope to give back to the community by educating our youth," she said. "By educating younger generations, it is possible to establish morals and ethics that will benefit our community, environment, education, and politics. The way I see it is in order to have a better tomorrow, we must invest our time and money in our youth."

Renewable scholarships like the Pfeiff's are so helpful for students because the students benefit over the course of their college career, said Dana Berggren, grants management specialist at the Community Foundation. "Every single scholarship awarded is an investment in the students," she said. "And the renewable scholarships are a great way for donors to have a significant, lasting impact on the life of a student."

The Pfeiffs also established a second scholarship with similar criteria that is a two-year, renewable scholarship, awarded every two years. It was awarded this year to Kayleigh Bolick.

Marker said the Pfeiff scholarship allows her to pursue her goals—and graduate debt-free, allowing her to work in high-need, low-income special education classrooms without the worry of paying back loans. "Investing in students like Mary means that she can make an investment in other young people after she graduates," Berggren noted.

"The great thing about a renewable scholarship is that I not only get to benefit from it once but four times," she said. "It can be applied to my whole college education and benefit me continually. This scholarship has allowed me to achieve enormous things. It has ultimately allowed me to continue and fund my education."

The following students received 2017 scholarships. Scholarships with an asterisk are renewable, the total of which is awarded in installments.

• Sarah Adams—Don E. and Charlotte Williams Scholarship: $12,000*
• Noah Berkland—Jane and Clem Werner Scholarship: $5,000
• Kayleigh Bolick—Ted & Eloise Pfeiff Scholarship: $2,000*
• Saneha Borisuth—Richard J. Collins Memorial Scholarship: $500
• Spencer Brown—Dr. and Mrs. Yang Ho Rhee Scholarship: $2,000
• Kathleen Byrne—Great River Bend Cyclone Scholarship: $1,000
• Brian Dennis—Central High School Teacher Scholarship: $14,000*
• Meghan Dixon—Don E. and Charlotte Williams Scholarship: $12,000*
• Maram El-Geneidy—Jane and Clem Werner Scholarship: $5,000
• Cohl Fitch-Hughes—William H. Kleinschmidt Scholarship: $3,000
• Jenna Franklin—Diana (Diane) De Pover-Nesseler Scholarship: $750
• Erin Geyer—Don E. and Charlotte Williams Scholarship: $12,000*
• Austin Goddard—Helen Maurer Simmons Scholarship: $1,000
• Jurnie Hinde—William H. Kleinschmidt Scholarship: $3,000
• Grace Hipple—Jane and Clem Werner Scholarship: $5,000
• Kyle Hoffman—Mike Condon Scholarship: $1,500; Morency Family Scholarship: $8,000*
• Mengshi Huang—Louis F. Bulechek Memorial Scholarship: $18,000*; Morency Family Scholarship: $8,000*
• Tyler Josund—Corky Kress Golf Scholarship: $1,000
• Brittni LaFountaine—Ligino Family Scholarship: $500
• Nikolas LaMaack—Jane and Clem Werner Scholarship: $5,000
• Zachary Lebel—Edwin R. Adland and Ruth H. Adland Scholarship: $20,000*
• Matthew Lloyd—Bryant-Holmes Scholarship for Mercer County High School: $4,000*
• Annel Lueth—Corky Kress Golf Scholarship: $2,000; Don E. and Charlotte Williams Scholarship: $12,000*; Jane and Clem Werner Scholarship: $5,000
• Kathryn Lyphout—Don E. and Charlotte Williams Scholarship: $12,000*
• Madeline Neumann—Gene S. Duke Scholarship: $2,500
• Garvin Paper—Bill and Hilda Macomber and Alta Kahl Scholarship: $1,000; Verna Kaucher Scholarship: $4,000*
• Spencer Peachee'—Don E. and Charlotte Williams Scholarship: $12,000*; Donna Jean Arzberger Memorial Scholarship: $2,000; Verna Kaucher Scholarship: $4,000*
• Christy Ralston—John R. Kiley Memorial Scholarship: $1,000
• Lauren Sloat—Mariah Becker Scholarship: $1,200
• Sarah Solt—Dearrel Bates Memorial Scholarship: $1,250
• Spenser Strandgard—Clifford and Louise King Scholarship: $2,700
• Elisabeth Tarpey—Morency Family Scholarship: $8,000*
• Laura Thoeming—Morency Family Scholarship: $8,000*
• Kylie Wymer-—August and Edna Zahatko Scholarship: $1,000; Herman and Sarah Segal Scholarship: $1,000; Kelly Marie McQuate Scholarship: $500