Scholarship 2021

 

 

Congratulations to this years scholarship winners; Brooklynn Becker & Jon Damzyn. This summer they will each be awarded $3000 for college expenses at a presentation in Ada, on August 1st. We are so proud of both Brooklyn and Jon for pursuing their passions even after a devastating cancer diagnosis for themself or someone in their family.

 

Brooklynn Becker is a recent graduate of Grandville High School. As a proud recipient of the MLHope Scholarship Award, Brooklynn will begin pursuing a Degree in Psychology at GRCC in the Fall of 2021.

In her free time, Brooklynn enjoys singing, drawing and playing volleyball. She has played volleyball since age 7 and was a member of the Be NICE, Conservation and Culture clubs all four years of high school. These clubs are focused on inclusion of all people, exploration and understanding of other cultures and all forms of recycling.

Brooklynn became more interested in the field of Psychology after seeing and experiencing the psychological toll a cancer diagnosis creates. Her father was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2019. Brooklynn immediately took on a more active role as caregiver and support to the rest of her family. As a Junior in high school, it was quite a heavy load to bear. Her grades did suffer a bit. But with true GRIT, she was able to pull it all together and obtain a 3.83 GPA as a Senior. With this diagnosis, Brooklynn has gained a greater understanding and appreciation for blood and bone marrow donation.

Along with becoming a blood donor, with her degree in Psychology, Brooklynn also hopes to be able to help others, in the future, who are struggling with the diagnosis of a family member.

 

 

Jon Damzyn will start his senior year at Saginaw Valley State University in Fall 2021, where he is studying Electrical Engineering and stands at a 3.96 college GPA. Jon has been involved with the Robotics Club, IEEE as club Secretary and research projects on electrical inverter technology with Associate Professor Yu Zou.

He works as a co-op within the Research and Development Motor Group at Nexteer Automotive where he has received numerous Employee Recognition awards related to operational excellence, enterprise growth and empowerment. He also volunteers with his hometown Goodfellows food distribution program. Jon finished high school with a 4.0 GPA and was very active in National Honor Society, was a member of the GHS rookie FIRST Robotics team, the advanced Wings of Harmony choir and Business Club. He was a 4-year Varsity Golfer, named twice to an All-State Team and a 2-time State qualifier. He was named the Michigan Boys Golf Positive Athlete in 2018. Jon worked summers at Gladwin Heights Golf Course, helped with kid’s golf programs and started his own auto detailing business.

He was also the project lead for a Penny War fundraiser for CERN Foundation, in honor of a fellow student diagnosed with cancer. At the age of 10, Jon began volunteering for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life as a team captain, personally raising $20,000 + over 8 years, eventually serving on the planning committee. Jon has been a survivor of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia since he was 2-1/2 years old.