Mugerauer, Zier recognized through Kohl Fellowship for academics, community service

Seniors Liberty Mugerauer and Rebecca Zier both recently were named winners of the prestigious Herb Kohl scholarship, which advocates for post-secondary education, and the $10,000 prize that accompanies it. Only 100 students from Wisconsin receive the award annually to recognize leadership, citizenship, school and community involvement, as well as academic achievement. Mugerauer is working towards majoring in public relations at the University of Alabama and Zier plans to major in global health at the University of Madison. 

“It is certainly an honor to have students win a very prestigious and competitive award,” Principal Erin Kohl said. “We have around 10-15 students who apply annually, and we do not get kids who receive the award every year. It's not that often that we have students selected for the Herb Kohl award, and so the fact that we actually had two selected this year was really telling.”

In order to win the scholarship, multiple steps were required and criteria that needed to be met. Community involvement was one of the reasons why Mugerauer felt she won.

“I have volunteered over 500 hours throughout high school, so I had to put in all the different things that I did,” she said. “I dance and twirl at Julie’s Touch of Silver, and so I've helped as the captain of the twirl team at West. I’m also a titleholder as a part of the Miss America Organization, and so I'm currently in Miss South Central's Outstanding Teen, which is a leadership position.”

For Mugerauer, extracurriculars have helped shape her and will continue to prepare her for the challenges ahead. 

“It’s really important to participate in activities because you are getting more experience,” she said. “You just get to interact with a whole bunch of different people, and it's nice for the future because I have experience with leadership positions, so when I get a leadership position in a job, I will know how to handle it.”

The same variety of activism was also present in Zier’s application.

“I did community service, I worked and volunteered at Evergreen for four years up until the pandemic, I have performed in my church and youth group, I'm connected with the special education program, and I’m in different clubs like Spanish club,” she said. “When I applied, I focused on the community service part and my work as a certified nursing assistant.”

 Zier has found the same sense of accomplishment and development as Mugerauer in her involvement outside of school.

“I think I've met a lot of cool people, especially in the activities I participate in outside of school, like during community service or at the nursing home,” she said. “You just meet a lot of different people and hear different stories. I think it's just really interesting to participate in extracurriculars because it's just an experience you cannot get otherwise.”

Along with the plethora of extracurriculars, the standard scholarship essays and criteria were required.

“I had to write four to five mini-essays under 100 or 200 words, and then I had to write another longer essay,” Zier said. “Everything was judged based on your extracurriculars, your writing, and your future plans. I would say it took me five or six hours with three letters of recommendation.”

Students were to apply in the middle of November, and in the middle of December, those who made it to the finalist level were alerted. It was the notification in February that was the definite one.

“I was kind of surprised and really excited at the same time,” Mugerauer said. “I got the email in the middle of the day right after school, and I called my mom, and she got all excited because college is super expensive, so the scholarship was really gonna help. It feels really good to have won, especially because I put a lot of time and effort into applying for the scholarship, and it is nice to know that all the hard work has paid off.”

Zier shared a similar sentiment, and looks forward to any financial help possible.

“I was really excited that I won, and it was nice to see on a Tuesday afternoon,” she said. “It will definitely help me in college as I am planning on that going towards tuition, housing, and other basics.”

Although scholarships hold many benefits for those pursuing further education, Mugerauer feels there is a lack of student participation which she finds concerning. 

“There are a lot of scholarships out there, and I know sometimes it can be hard to find scholarships, but it's definitely possible,” she said. “Even though you might not be able to get all of them, it is worth a shot. I would definitely say to start early in volunteering and try to get involved in your school and other outside activities to help you prepare for applications.”

Zier herself has applied to various financial scholarships and grants, so she understands the difficulties attached to the process. 

“Most of my friends have been applying to as many scholarships as they can, but I know it's really hard when every scholarship requires an essay or a super long application,” she said.
“You kind of have to pick and choose which you will spend the most time on, because it's not worth it to look at 30 to 40 scholarships and read all those prompts and write those essays when you don't really have a chance for a lot of them.”

Kohl greatly encourages more and more students to continue applications, hoping to see a higher number of students applying for scholarships in the future. 

“Every scholarship is a little bit different and they're looking for different things, so I think it's good to just be a really well balanced student,” Kohl said. “They're really looking for kids who, beyond just being students, are involved in the community, volunteering, or even have a job. That shows that you're good at managing your time between work and school and so anything that’s extra beyond classes can help you stand out.”

By Javit Thao

Published March 25, 2021

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue VI