Jordan Diane Fuchs, 18, of Mill Spring, has been awarded a $1,000 Marianna Wolpers Memorial Scholarship for the 2017-18 academic year at Three Rivers College. The scholarship is administered by the Three Rivers Community College Foundation.
Fuchs is a 2017 graduate of Clearwater High School in Piedmont, where she was Valedictorian of her graduating class, with a 4.0 grade point average. Her school activities included National Honor Society, Beta Club, Family Career & Community Leaders of America, History Club, varsity softball and Tennessee High School Rodeo Association. In the community, Fuchs has helped with food bank drives and a special needs rodeo.
She is the daughter of Eric Fuchs and Raejean Roach.
"From an early age, I have planned to become a veterinarian specializing in equine care," Fuchs wrote in her scholarship application essay. "I plan to attend Three Rivers College for my first two years....(then) I plan to attend Southeast Missouri University to take my prerequisite classes for a degree in veterinary medicine.
"My next step is to apply for admission to veterinarian school at the University of Missouri in Columbia," she said, adding that she hopes to establish a practice in Wayne County after finishing her training.
The Marianna Wolpers Scholarship was established in 2002 in memory of the late Marianna Knecht Wolpers, who died that year at the age of 84.
Mrs. Wolpers was a key member of the volunteer team that convinced area voters to establish TRCC in 1966. In 1972, she became the first woman elected to the TRCC Board of Trustees. She served for 12 years.
Always a strong believer in education and a life-long reader of classic literature, Mrs. Wolpers was unable to attend college in her youth because of family finances. But for decades, while raising a family and helping with community projects, she took college-level courses by correspondence and in person. In 1971, she earned an Associate of Arts degree from Three Rivers, the college she helped start. And in May of 1987, Mrs. Wolpers marched as a member of the graduating class at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where she received a Bachelor of General Studies degree at the age of 69.
The TRCC Foundation is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt corporation offering donors substantial tax deductions for their contributions. The foundation administers numerous scholarships and special projects that benefit Three Rivers College and its students. For additional information, contact Executive Director Judith Scott at (573) 785-3743.