O.K. BOUWSMA AND DON WELCH SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO 10 HIGH ABILITY WRITERS AT UNK

Dr. Thomas Martin
professor of philosophy, 308.865.8298

Ten University of Nebraska at Kearney students have been awarded the O.K. Bouwsma and Welch Family Scholarships for the 2004-2005 school year.

Dr. Thomas Martin, scholarship adviser for philosophy, said, “The scholarships really measure the students’ aptitude and ability for writing by requiring the student to write an essay on a philosophical topic.”

According to Dr. Martin, the scholarships are awarded to the top students who have submitted a philosophical essay to the competition. The essays are read, judged and ranked by the members of the philosophy department. Students are awarded according to the writing skills they display in the essay.

The O.K. Bouwsma scholarship was created through a gift from an anonymous donor and named after a leading professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska from 1928-1965.

The Welch Family Scholarship is awarded to a student with a high ability in poetry and poetics. The award is named after Dr. Don Welch, a UNK 1954 graduate and UNK emeritus professor of English. Dr. Welch taught at UNK from 1959 to 1997.

Scholarship recipients are listed alphabetically by hometowns, along with their award amounts:

     O.K Bouwsma Winners
     Brownville
               John Westbrook ($2,000)
     Kearney 

Matt Brecht ($500), Jason House ($1,000), Chad Keller ($1,000) and Courtney Peplinski ($1,000)

     Grand Island 
Damon Watson ($800)
     Scottsbluff
Matt Fowler ($500)
     Sutherland
David Huff $500)

     JAPAN
         Tokyo
Takeshi Morisato ($2,000)

     Welch Family Scholarship Winner
          Grand Island
               Damon Watson ($1,200)