Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Ask Courtney Wittnebel and she will describe herself as a good student who is willing to work hard to achieve results.

That was her attitude as a senior last spring at Forest Lake High School. She would consistently pick up As and Bs in her class work but she was not an honor student.

But Wittnebel, 18, was an honor student in another way. She was one of just three seniors at Forest Lake to receive Rotary Strive Scholarships from the Forest Lake Rotary Club.

The scholarship is given to a select group of students who show the most grade point average improvement from their junior to senior years. Wittnebel was joined by fellow seniors Ian Simpson and Angie Walker last year.

The Forest Lake Rotary Club Scholarship is part of the Forest Lake Community Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit foundation serving all of Independent School District 831.

Worth the try

Wittnebel learned of the CSF program after a visit to the high school career resource center last year. She filled out an application for a CSF award and other community scholarships that are awarded each year.

Little did she know she had won the Rotary scholarship for scholastic improvement when she was notified that she had won an award.

“I was in shock,” she said after her name was announced during the academic awards program. “It was quite an honor.”

Her $1000 scholarship was part of a $55,000 award made by the CSF last spring. The Forest Lake Rotary Club is one of many valuable community partners for the CSF.

Since its formation in 1973, the CSF has been rewarding high-achieving seniors and past graduates with scholarship help. Today, the CSF has awarded more than $600,000 in scholarships and the 2007 award program is expected to top the 2006 award total.

Wittnebel’s story

Wittnebel is a resident of Linwood Township where she lives today with her parents, Sarah and Larry and twin sisters Rachael and Christina, 16.

As a sophomore at Forest Lake High School, Wittnebel said she had some trouble adjusting to big-school life. But she got by, doing fairly well in her classes.

It was from her junior year to her senior year that her grades took solid hold and she matured as a person and student, said Ben Fisher, the dean who worked with Wittnebel.

“She was always a personable kid and a good kid,” Fisher said. As a dean and counselor, Fisher said he was equally impressed with Wittnebel’s growth as a person as with her classroom improvement.

Wittnebel is not letting down now that high school is over.

She is enrolled at Century College in White Bear Lake where she is concentrating on her generals and has applied for admission to the dental assisting program. She is keeping her options free for now.

By completing her generals, she can move directly to a four-year program elsewhere or utilize the dental assisting program for a job in the real world.

Wittnebel is also finding time to work while she is in college. She takes classes in the morning at Century and returns home for an afternoon shift most days at The Hair Shop in Wyoming where she is a receptionist.

She is using her scholarship dollars to pay for books this year, offsetting a hefty college expense.

Wittnebel says she is very thankful for the CSF program and the boost it has given her. “I really appreciate the opportunity,” she said.

Under the umbrella of the CSF program, students in college now or district residents who need help to improve their education, can apply for CSF grants. Wittnebel says she will make a second application this spring.

“It never hurts to try,” Wittnebel said.

Rotary story

The Rotary Strive program has been in existence for 20 years after getting its start in White Bear Lake, said Rich Ottomeyer, a local Rotarian and member of the CSF board. The program has since gone national.

The Forest Lake Rotary Club became involved 15 years ago. The $3000 in Strive scholarship money is just part of the club’s contribution to CSF. A total of $5000 is contributed each year with some dollars set aside in a fund that will one day be utilized as a self-sustaining Rotary scholarship, Ottomeyer said.

The $5000 contribution is one of the club’s major achievements and one well worth the effort, he said.

“So many scholarships are awarded to the top-notch academic achievers,” Ottomeyer said. “This program rewards those who really make improvements and are trying.”

Students who receive Strive Scholarships may not be honor students, Ottomeyer said, but they have demonstrated grade point improvement and have risen in the class rankings.

In many ways, Ottomeyer said, the Strive program mirrors the efforts of the CSF by helping reward hard-working and financially deserving students.

It is a program that wouldn’t be possible without the financial contributions of businesses, individuals, organizations, clubs and foundations.

Large fund contributions from Fern and Vern Boettcher, Edith and Duane Rasmussen and the late Fritz Nelson combine with the Rotary Strive fund as major contributors to the annual program.

For more on the Community Scholarship Foundation, go to www.forestlakecsf.org.

Contributions may be sent to the Community Scholarship Foundation, Forest Lake High School, care of student services department, 6101 Scandia Trail N., Forest Lake, MN 55025.

The Community Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation and all donations are tax deductible.

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