LSSU to award new scholarships honoring Alumni community members

NEWS RELEASE
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY
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Lake Superior State University announces two new memorial scholarships that benefit distinct undergraduates and that honor beloved alumni community members. The pair of scholarships will be bestowed to recipients effective the 2022-23 academic year, with dollar amount to be determined.

The Martin (Beau) Korson Chippewa County Sunrise Rotary Club Award will be given to an incoming freshman who is pursuing any course of study at LSSU and who graduated from a Chippewa County high school. The scholarship commemorates Korson, who grew up in Suttons Bay, MI, graduated from LSSU in 1998 with a degree in mechanical engineering, and spent most of his career in drafting. A transplant to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, and a devotee of the outdoors, photography, music, and the Chippewa Theater Guild, he died in 2019 at age 43, surrounded by family, after fighting cancer.

“Beau's devotion to his family and community was an example for all of us, and Sunrise Rotary is so pleased to see his name live on with this important scholarship,” said Tracey Holt, president of Chippewa County Sunrise Rotary Club. “This scholarship will help foster a community-minded next generation.”

The Heidi Bailey Memorial Nursing Scholarship will be given to a junior or senior LSSU nursing student interested in home health and hospice care. The award is a homage to Bailey, who graduated from Newberry (MI) High School in 1984 and LSSU in 1988 with a BSN and who worked first at War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, and then for 27 years at the Chippewa County Health Department, dedicating herself to hospice and community home healthcare. The Soo resident passed away in 2021 at age 55 in her home, surrounded by family.

“The School of Nursing is grateful to Heidi Bailey's family, friends, and co-workers for the creation and support of the Heidi Bailey Memorial Scholarship to honor Heidi, who had such a positive influence on our nursing students’ education at the Chippewa County Health Department, which is one of our main clinical sites,” said Dr. Kathy Berchem, dean of the College of Health & Behavior at LSSU. “Her legacy will continue on as our nursing students and graduates improve patient care and health outcomes around the globe.”

“We appreciate the generosity of all the intimates and other donors who wanted not only to recognize two adored members of the Soo community but also to help LSSU students,” said Scott Smith, vice president of advancement at LSSU. “These scholarships pay tribute to and give back to both the inner circle of the deceased and the next generation of Lakers in the workforce.”

“We at Lake State are touched by these two new scholarships and excited to begin to award them next academic year,” LSSU President Dr. Rodney S. Hanley. “Through largesse, observance, and mindfulness, they speak to community partnerships, fiscal resilience, student learning, and other key aspects of our strategic plan while reinforcing our mission to enhance the quality of life of the LSSU campus and the Great Lakes Region. They represent good deeds for good people.”

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