At our 20 year class reunion we started a scholarship fund in memory of those classmates who had passed away. A college scholarship has been handed out to a graduating senior from New Berlin West High School for the last five years. Select alumni from the Class of 83 serve on the committee to select the scholarship winners. To apply for the scholarship, please contact the New Berlin West guidance counselors. Below are some of the recipients of this scholarship.

We received many applicants for the 2010 scholarship, just as many as received in 2009.
We also left the increased scholarship fund from $500 to $750 for the 2010 recipient.
Someone has been chosen and will be awarded that scholarship on May 19th, 2010.

Megan Hugdahl - 2007 Graduate
Throughout high school, I dreamed of far away universities. I went through a Columbia University phase, a period of intense interest in Caltech, and finally settled on Brown University. However, during senior year, reality set in: Brown is expensive, really expensive. Thanks to the financial support of scholarships such as the Class of 1983, I have been able to attend Brown. I am extremely grateful for the financial support.

Jack Nilles – 2006 Graduate
Attending a world class university in a major metropolitan area is not an easy feat for an out-of-state student from the suburbs of Milwaukee. To attend the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities each year, I pay $21,144 to my institution on top of living costs. To subsist anywhere within the Twin Cities’ seven country metro area, I easily double any of my costs from when I lived in New Berlin. The changing ways of higher education creates additional burdens when keeping up with financial struggles. One is expected to volunteer, hold internships, join campus organizations, and network while maintaining a respectable grade point average. At the U of M, there has been a recent push to have the majority of undergraduate students finish their studies within four years, a great challenge by today’s standards. This means the average liberal arts student, like me, must take at least 17 credits per semester, on top of their other commitments, in order to graduate on time. These obligations are intended to make one prepared for graduate school an absolute must and additional financial burden for the college student of today. It is extremely difficult to hold a steady job intended to pay for these expenses. There are limited positions which work around a student’s busy schedule. Therefore, scholarships are crucial for students like me. As an undergraduate in education, it will take me years to pay off my debts once I get a job. We need scholarships to survive and attend large institutions. While universities like the U of M have increased their student scholarship offerings in recent years, they are meant to lure foreign students and aid in research guided studies. Sadly, this leaves those of us in liberal arts professions, who come from middle class families, behind.