Kayla Jatczak ‘Behind the Scenes’ Scholarship Fund

Background:

Kayla Lynn Jatczak lived a vibrant, but too brief, life dedicated to helping others. She graduated from Kimberly High School in 2012 and went on to earn an undergraduate degree from Drake University and a master’s degree from UW-Stout. At age 28, Kayla tragically passed away after a brief illness. While her life was short it was full of spirit, giving and passion. Kayla’s love for the arts started during her days at Kimberly High School. She enjoyed all types of creative outlets – literature, music, culinary, and theater. At KHS, she was actively involved with band and was a student leader in the theater program. Early on, Kayla learned that it was the behind-the-scenes people who were critical to making any arts performance truly enjoyable for an audience. As such, she dedicated her time and talents to stage management, writing, lighting, set building and crew engagement. One of Kayla’s favorite musicals was The Greatest Showman. In that show, P.T. Barnum said it best when he said: “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” Kayla taught us all to uncover our own artistic talents, always be curious, and march to the beat of our own drummer.

Eligibility: (taken into consideration to determine recipients) • Graduating seniors from Kimberly High School • Planning to pursue post-secondary education at an accredited 4-year college or university as a full-time student • Minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA • Participation in "behind the scenes" roles at extracurricular theater production(s) at Kimberly High School (including but not limited to stage managers, lighting technicians, crew members, etc.) o Preference given to students who have participated in more than one production, or in a production during their junior or senior years • Demonstrated leadership, initiative, and good character

Award Amount:

One $1,000 non-renewable scholarship award for cost of attendance, payable for the first semester.

Selection:

Recipients will be recommended each spring by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region’s Scholarship Selection Committee along with a family member.

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 at an accredited 4-year college or university for the first semester of freshman year of college.

Further Information:

• Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region o Website www.cffoxvalley.org/scholarships/ o Email scholarships@cffoxvalley.org o Phone 920.702.7629