Antigo's Neveah Malone earns Money Smart Wisconsin Scholarship

MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, in partnership with Edvest 529, Wisconsin’s direct-sold 529 college savings plan, and the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt, has announced 15 Wisconsin high school seniors as the scholarship recipients for this year’s 2024 Money Smart Wisconsin Scholarship Contest.

Ten of the 15 scholarship recipients are first-generation college students. Each scholarship recipient will receive a scholarship in the form of a $1,000 contribution to a new or existing Edvest 529 account for their winning essay submission on how they plan to finance their higher education.

Congratulations to this year’s essay contest scholarship recipients:

Destiny Counts, Muskego High School, Muskego

Melanie Fink, New Glarus High School, New Glarus

Jonathan Jeske, Sword of the Spirit Academy (Homeschool), Ashwaubenon

Chase Kruchten, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac

Noah Krueger, DeForest Area High School, DeForest

Nevaeh Malone, Antigo High School, Antigo

Hallie Miller, Lodi High School, Lodi

Xander Neal, Chippewa Falls High School, Chippewa Falls

Nora Oleniczak, Preble High School, Green Bay

Andie Otto, Cumberland High School, Cumberland

Sidhdhi Patel, Prairie du Chien High School, Prairie du Chien

Bridget Salber, Marathon High School, Marathon

Cora Stodola, Mishicot High School, Mishicot

Christopher Vanderwielen, Luxemburg-Casco High School, Luxemburg

Collin Zimmermann, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School, Elkhart Lake

Members of the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt reviewed and scored the 160 essay submissions based on criteria including identifying funding sources for higher education and explaining how to manage student loan debt.

“These students have shown us through their essay submissions that they have developed plans to pay for college and manage potential student loan debt,” said Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Secretary Cheryll Olson-Collins. “We applaud these students for demonstrating sound money management skills, and we encourage them to continue building their financial literacy and capability skills as they continue their education. It is our hope that this scholarship will support them in their pursuit of ongoing academic achievement.”

The Money Smart Wisconsin Scholarship Contest is part of Money Smart Wisconsin Week, a financial literacy awareness and education campaign, taking place this week, April 6-13, 2024. Sponsors of the scholarship contest include Ascendium Education Group, Educators Credit Union, Edvest 529, SecureFutures, Summit Credit Union, UW Credit Union, the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt, and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

More information is available on the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt’s website at debtsmarts.org or via email at: WICoalitionStudentDebt@gmail.com.