Donald & Joyce Byrne Scholarship

Background:

The children of Donald and Joyce Byrne have established this scholarship to honor their parents and as a way of paying forward to the next generations of Freedom High School graduates. Don and Joyce would be extremely pleased to see a Freedom High School graduate receive this scholarship and have it make a difference in their life and livelihood! Donald Byrne was a third-generation farmer in Freedom and graduated from Freedom High School in 1938. Like many of his generation he served his country during WWII where he worked as a clerk on General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarter staff. After the army, he returned to Freedom, married his wife Joyce, bought a local farm and together they raised 8 children. Joyce Hanson Byrne was born in 1921 in Rio, Wisconsin and her family’s long line of teaching roots can be traced all the way back to Ireland’s County Longford. She graduated from Rio High School in 1938 and continued to teacher’s college at Outagamie County Normal School in Kaukauna and graduated in 1941. She taught English and reading in a one-room school in Oneida prior to marrying Don. As children, we can’t remember a time when our parents didn’t stress education, which included weekly visits to the Appleton Public Library to check out books that lasted well to the next week. Mom made sure that we not only spoke the language correctly but also that we were familiar with poetry, classics and popular American authors. Dad recognized that the days of a small dairy farm were numbered, and that an 80-acre farm split between 8 kids would not go very far. So, our parents expected all of us to attend college and kept after us until we graduated.

Eligibility: (taken into consideration to determine recipients) • Graduating seniors from Freedom High School • Planning to pursue a degree at any university within the University of Wisconsin system, or a technical school within the state of Wisconsin as a full-time student in one of the following fields of study: engineering, business, computer science, nursing, education, physical therapy, agriculture, mathematics, sciences or pursue a trade in the areas of electrical, mechanical, toolmaking, or 2- or 3-year version of study of the acceptable list of college degrees o Not considered are the following: arts, music, sociology, psychology, philosophy, political science, and history • Minimum cumulative 3.25 GPA • Involvement in extra-curricular, community and volunteer activities • Financial need will be considered

Award Amount:

One $1,500 per year scholarship award, payable at $750 per semester for the first year of post-secondary education.

Selection:

Recipients are recommended each spring by the Freedom High School Scholarship Selection Committee. A letter of recommendation from a Freedom High School teacher regarding the student’s character and integrity is required.

Collecting the Award & Payment Procedure:

Recipients must fill out and submit Scholarship Acceptance Form and Scholarship Verification Form through the Scholarship Portal (https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cffvrscholar). Recipients are required to provide supporting documents as instructed in the Scholarship Verification Form, such as class registration/list with credits listed, proof of major, grade transcript, etc. After approval of online Scholarship Verification Form, the scholarship check will be paid directly to the school the recipient will be attending. The Community Foundation communicates with students via email; it is the student’s responsibility to keep their Scholarship Portal account updated with their current email address.

Loss of Eligibility:

Failure to register as a full-time student in an acceptable field of study at a University of Wisconsin School or a technical school within the state of Wisconsin in good academic standing.

Further Information:

• Freedom High School Guidance Department • Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region: o Website www.cffoxvalley.org/scholarships/ / Email scholarships@cffoxvalley.org / Phone 920.702.7629