KU to honor 38 high school seniors from 9 Northwest Kansas counties

LAWRENCE - Students from 16 Kansas high schools will be honored Wednesday, April 1, by the University of Kansas Alumni Association and KU Endowment.

A total of 38 seniors from high schools in Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas and Wallace counties will be recognized for their academic achievements and named Kansas Honor Scholars at a 7 p.m. dinner and program at the Gateway Civic Center, 1 Morgan Drive, Oberlin.

Since 1971, the Kansas Honors Program has recognized over 125,000 scholars who rank in the top 10 percent of their high school senior classes and are selected regardless of occupational plans or higher-education goals. Each year, the KU Alumni Association and its volunteers host 36 programs that reach all 105 counties across the state and include approximately 360 high schools.

During the ceremony, each student will receive a Webster’s New College Dictionary and a commemorative certificate.

Don Steeples, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and McGee Distinguished Professor of Applied Geophysics at The University of Kansas, will speak to the students and their parents and guests.

Honored students will be guests of the alumni association and KU Endowment; parents and area alumni are welcome to attend at a cost of $15 each.

Community volunteers collect reservations, coordinate details and serve as local contacts for the event. Rhonda May, of Oberlin, is the site and Decatur County coordinator. Jeff and Nona Mason, of Goodland, are the Sherman and Wallace County coordinators. Sherrie Wiedeman, of Colby, is the Gove, Logan and Sheridan County coordinator. Mike and Brenda Day, of St. Francis, are the Cheyenne County coordinators. Charles and Connie Peckham, of Atwood, are the Rawlins County coordinators. Melissa Stramel, of Colby, is the Thomas County coordinator.

The Kansas Honors Program is made possible by KU Endowment and proceeds from the Jayhawk license plate program. The Class of 2015 scholars:

Cheyenne

Cheylin High School

Jacob Brubaker, Bird City

Anna-Lura Frisbie, McDonald

St. Francis Community High School

Mariah Beikman, St. Francis

Erik Nelson, St. Francis

Decatur

Decatur Community High School

Regent Erickson, Rexford

Kaine Fredrickson, Oberlin

Garrett Scott, Oberlin

Gove

Quinter High School

Joshua Caasi, Quinter

Bethany Herl, Quinter

Wheatland High School

Allison Ryburn, Grinnell

Taylor Tustin, Gove

Logan

Oakley High School

Sonia Racette, Oakley

Emma Slack, Oakley

Triplains High School

Jessi Williams, Winona

Rawlins

Rawlins County High School

Macrae Migchelbrink, Atwood

Rhett Mizer, Atwood

Sheridan

Hoxie High School

Wade Niermeier, Hoxie

Lisa Stone, Hoxie

Sherman

Goodland High School

Britney Brown, Goodland

Hiram Hendrich, Goodland

Cheyenne Ortner, Goodland

Nicole Sederstrom, Goodland

Kristina Stasser, Goodland

Raquel Tomsic, Goodland

Thomas

Brewster High School

Dara Roulier, Brewster

Layton Werth, Brewster

Colby High School

Brooklyn  Bange , Colby

Bridget  Bickner , Colby

Isaac  Nichols , Colby

Courtney  Reilley , Colby

Hannah  Strange , Colby

Brooke  Wark , Colby

Olivia  Wetter , Colby

Golden Plains High School

Rachael Ritter, Selden

Heartland Christian School

Kelsie Jolly, Colby

Wallace

Wallace County High School

Chanity Daily, Wallace

Weskan High School

Grant Frasier, Sharon Springs

Thomas Rehfeld, Arapahoe.