Reception for two scholarship recipients held in MCCF Building

ZANESVILLE – The Olga and Olaf Hanson scholarships are awarded to college students who are pursuing degrees in education. The two students presented with the scholarship funding today are both graduate students; Kenzie Peairs from Ohio State University and Thomas Wibbeler from Salem University in West Virginia.

“Both of the recipients today are in their master’s program. They both teach here locally. You must be a resident of Muskingum County to receive the award and they come highly recommended and they’re working very hard. We also look at their volunteering and providing other things to the community besides their teaching,” Executive for the Scholarship Dr. Vicki Whitacre said.

Whitacre was a close friend of Olaf Hanson and feels this scholarship helps honor her legacy.

“It’s a way of keeping Olaf’s memory alive. She was a very special person and taught reading up at Tri Valley in her retirement. Anybody who knew her was amazed by her and loved her and I enjoy thoroughly being able to remind people of education in her name and help them along the way as she was helped by a church when she got her degree in religious education,” Whitacre said.

Whitacre said that Wibbler is one of only three men to receive the scholarship in its history.