(Rock Island, IL) The Rock Island Rotary Club and the Rock Island County Extension & 4-H Education Foundation awarded the 2021 Bert Blood Memorial Scholarships at the April 13 Rotary Club meeting held via ZOOM. Three Rock Island County 4-H high school seniors gave presentations about their 4-H experiences and were then notified of their award amounts. Two Rock Island County 4-H alumni also received scholarships for their continuing college education.

2021 Bert Blood Memorial 4-H Scholarship Recipients were:  

Katelyn Oleson received a $1,500 scholarship.

She is the daughter of Eirik and Tara Oleson of Cordova, Ill. Katelyn will graduate in May from Riverdale Senior High School. She is an 11 year member of the Buccaneers 4-H Club where she has served as club president, treasurer and photographer.  Her 4-H projects included showing horses, rabbits, dog obedience, dog care, photography, photo editing, and first aid. Among her favorite community service projects was the time she spent at Hope Creek Nursing Home with the older generation playing bingo and helping them with crafts. It was there she was able to spend some extra quality time with her own grandfather who spent his final year there in the dementia unit. The many caring people she met through her nursing home experience inspired her to pursue a career in geriatric medicine. She plans to attend University of Kansas-Lawrence to study Biology. Katelyn credits 4-H and its pillars of head, heart, hands and health with helping her grow as an individual and for teaching her compassion, volunteerism and leadership skills.

Ryan Parchert received a $1,250 scholarship.

He is the son of Thomas and Carol Parchert of Illinois City, Ill. He will graduate in May from Rockridge High School. He is an 11 year member of the Edgington Go-Getters 4-H Club where he served as club president, vice president and treasurer.  His 4-H projects included showing swine and building his skills from beginner to senior division where he started farrowing crossbreds and purebreds and learned how to manage during the A1 process and the delivery of pigs, administer shots, ear notch them and prepare them for the show ring. He enjoyed giving time to his community and club by helping the directors set up the fair, prepare the show arenas, guiding younger 4-H members, and through a variety of volunteer service as Vice President of the Rockridge National Honor Society. Ryan plans to attend University of Wisconsin-Platteville where he will major in Agriculture Business. He credits 4-H with giving him experience competing respectfully, promoting the pork industry by sharing his knowledge with others and with leadership experience through his 4-H officer positions.

Emma Hogren received a $1,000 scholarship.

She is the daughter of Tim and Melissa Hogren of Port Byron, Ill. She will graduate in May from Riverdale Senior High School. She is an 11 year member of the Zuma Zippers 4-H Club where she served as president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Her 4-H projects have included photography; carbon, chalk, and pigment visual arts; floriculture; cooking; interior design; heritage clay arts; paper, nature, glass, and plastic art. Emma has done a variety of community service projects, from helping distribute food and school supplies to those in need, to leading kids in cheerleading and bible school camps, she has shared her time and talents in many ways. Emma plans to attend Drake University to major in Art History and Biology. She credits her life-long involvement in 4-H as helping her feel comfortable speaking in front of others, sharing her thoughts and ideas, and feeling like her voice was heard. Her 4-H projects helped her tune in to her creativity and her 4-H officer positions helped hone her leadership skills.  

Mia Freyermuth received a $500 scholarship.

She is the daughter of Todd and Liane Freyermuth of Illinois City. Mia attends Illinois Central College studying Agriculture Business and minoring in Ag Communications. She credits 4-H with helping her develop the stamina to get the job done. Her main goal is to become an influencing, confident woman who will change the way society looks at agriculturalists.

Hunter Johnson received a $500 scholarship.

He is the son of Scott and Jaime Johnson of Reynolds, Ill. He attends Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College majoring in Animal Science. Hunter credits 4-H with helping him learn about the business side of livestock and giving him the goals to further his education in agriculture.

The Rock Island Rotary Club has been awarding the scholarships since 1973. They were started in honor of Albert M. "Bert" Blood, a long time Rock Island businessman, who organized the Rotary Club's annual Rural/Urban program up to his death in 1972 at age 101. Bert worked hard to ensure that Rock Island Rotary Club kept in touch with their dependence on rural production and supply. As tuition costs increased and with assistance of the Rock Island County Extension & 4-H Education Foundation, there is now a total of $4,750 in scholarships available to qualifying applicants each year.

To learn more about the Illinois 4-H program in our community, visit our 4-H webpages or contact us at at the Rock Island County Extension & 4-H office located at 321 W 2nd Ave., Milan, IL 61264 or call (309) 756-9978.