Bio: Magnus,  Brooke - Scholarship (Dec 2020)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Magnus, Hopkins

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co, WI) 12/23/2020

Reaches Semifinals of National Scholarship (Brooke Magnus 2020)



Neillsville High School student Brooke Magnus is now one of 1,609 high school seniors selected as a semifinalist for a national scholarship, out of a field that originally included almost 100,000 high school seniors across the country. Submitted Photo

By Ryan Spoehr

A Neillsville High School senior is a semifinalist in a national scholarship field.

Brooke Magnus was recently named as a semifinalist in the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. In the program, 1,609 high school seniors were selected as semifinalists from a pool of 99,403 from across the U.S. based on academic excellence, leadership and service in school and their communities.

“Coca-Cola is a very well-recognized name, and I was attracted to the way they help students,” Magnus said.

Magnus and the rest of the semifinalists are in the running for 150 scholarships. Each one is worth $20,000.

“We believe that identifying these young leaders throughout the country and encouraging their passion for serving others not only empowers the students, lifts up those around them,” said Jane Hale Hopkins, president of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, in a press release. “The Coca-Cola system is dedicated to giving back to the communities they serve, and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation is proud to be a part of that commitment.”

In the first phase of the scholarship application, Magnus completed an eligibility form to determine eligibility. Then she submitted information on employment, activities she is involved in and where she stands academically.

At school, she is involved in the Spanish Club, FFA and National Honor Society.

In the community, she volunteers at Horses and Riders Together and is the president of the Lucky Clovers 4-H Club. She also shows pigs through the 4-H livestock program and shows horses competitively on the state, national and international level.

Another component of the application process is showcasing the desire to pursue secondary education.

“As a part of my application, I explained my motivation and dedication toward college despite the adversity that I have faced in my life,” Magnus said.

Magnus has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. While there, she plans to pursue a degree in communication and science disorders. From there, she intends on becoming a speech pathologist and working in a school setting or medical clinic.

She admitted that after applying for the scholarship, she forgot about it.

“The company had told me they would email me either way, no matter if I made the semifinals or not,” Magnus said. “I never thought I would be in the running for such a prestigious scholarship, so when I got an email that started with ‘Congratulations Brooke,’ I assumed it was a spam email, and almost deleted it. Good thing I didn’t.”

Magnus will now go on to a second phase of applying. That includes essays, receiving a recommendation and submitting transcripts.

An independent selection committee reviews applications in the second phase. In January, that committee will select 250 regional finalists who will participate in online interviews. That is when the field is cut down to the 150 scholarship recipients.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Program has been active for 33 years, according to a press release issued by the foundation. After this year’s scholarships are awarded, there will have been more than more than 6,450 Coke scholars nationwide who have been issued more than $75 million in scholarships.

In that press release, the foundation boasted about the ability to help scholars network with others who have earned scholarships or have applied, including through leadership summits and podcasting.

Magnus has applied for several other national scholarships and is awaiting the time when she can start applying for local scholarships in January. For the ones she has applied for, she is still waiting for the results.

“I greatly appreciate all of the efforts that businesses and organizations offer to support students in their continued education,” Magnus said.