by Graham Sturgeon, co-editor
THE COOK FAMILY FOUNDATION presented Byron High School senior Mitchell Lawrence with the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship Wednesday, May 4. The scholarship will provide a full four-year scholarship to the University of Michigan, where Lawrence will pursue a career in architecture. Shown with Mitchell at the Cook Family Foundation UM Scholarship Dinner are (from left): U of M undergrad admissions director Erica Sanders, along with Bruce and Jackie Cook.
The Cook Family Foundation presented Owosso senior Mary Basso and Byron senior Mitchell Lawrence with college scholarships during the annual UM Scholarship Dinner Wednesday, May 4. Both students will attend the University of Michigan, though both have already established impressive credit totals prior to graduating high school.
Basso, the valedictorian of the Owosso High School (OHS) senior class, was presented with the Donald Cook Scholarship, worth $20,000. In addition to an extensive list of athletic and academic high school achievements, Basso has taken an “intensive” French course at Michigan State University that covered four years of information into two years, as well as nine OHS AP classes. She is already enrolled in the U of M Residential College where she will pursue a double major in political science and French. She plans to study abroad, in France, and she plans to eventually apply for law school.
Lawrence, also the valedictorian of his class, was awarded the Bruce and Jackie Cook Scholarship, which will fully fund his U of M tuition for four years. He has been admitted to the Taubman College of Architecture and Design, and the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. He plans to pursue a Masters of Architecture. Scholar and a candidate for Eagle Scout, and he dual enrolled as well, taking Japanese and advanced calculus courses. Additionally, he has been awarded a Taubman Scholarship and Regent’s Merit Scholarship from U of M.
U of M alum and Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership President/CEO Justin Horvath gave the invocation Wednesday, and U of M Director of Undergraduate Admissions Erica Sanders was the featured speaker. In addition to the two featured students, Basso and Lawrence, 25 other Cook Family Foundation scholarship awardees were honored during the dinner.
The 25 additional Cook Family Foundation Scholarship winners include (with each student’s high school in parenthesis): Clayton Alaga (Ovid-Elsie), Connor Applebee (Ovid-Elsie), Brooke Brandt (Corunna), Alexander Backus (Corunna), Ryan Brian (Chesaning), Breanna Bixler (Perry), Jason Cottrell (Durand), Cameron Cross (Chesaning), and Kaila Daley (Byron).
Also, Anthony Edgar (Chesaning), Grant Floto (Byron), Tatianna Fraley (Durand), Katrina Granger (Laingsburg), Rebecca Huska (Owosso), Addison Hymer (Ovid-Elsie), Micah Johnson (Perry), Valentina Larrivey (Owosso), Robert Massie (Owosso), Nicholas Mars (Corunna), Tristan Merchant (Laingsburg), Harrison Miller (New Lothrop), Emma Phillipson (Ovid-Elsie), Arionna Stockinger (Corunna), Connor Svrcek (Corunna), and Hannah Thomas (New Lothrop).
