Catherine Birzle Scholarship available to diocesan high school students with financial need

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Jan. 25, 2007

Once again the Catherine Birzle Education Scholarship will be available to students in need of tuition assistance to attend a Catholic high school in the Diocese of Sioux City.

This is the third year that the scholarship will be offered, noted Kevin Vickery, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese. The first distribution was in 2005.

"Catherine Birzle was a woman who lived primarily in the Spalding area," said Vickery. "She served as a housekeeper for Father Hoffman for many years. Over time she had acquired a piece of farmland. In her estate, she left the bulk of her estate to a trust that would provide tuition to students who had need in the Diocese of Sioux City."

The trust provides for a minimum of $500 or up to, but not exceeding, 50 percent of a student's tuition, which ever is the greater amount. For example, if the tuition were $2,500, the student would receive $1,250.

Last year (2006-2007) $28,380 was distributed to 33 students. The first year (2005-2006) $27,017 was awarded to 28 students.

"I'm sure that throughout her life Catherine Birzle never thought of herself as being a major player," said Vickery. "I'm sure she led a very humble life. Here it is that she is a woman now that has already, in two years of this trust, changed the lives of almost 60 students in a profound way. These are students who might not of had a chance at a Catholic education. Catherine shared so that kids could be educated in Catholic schools."

This year (2007-2008) it is anticipated that close to $30,000 will be awarded and the scholarship will be paid directly to the educational institution.

"Catherine Birzle obviously saw a great value in Catholic schools," said Vickery. "She didn't have children of her own, but through this gift is leaving a great legacy for families - to assist them in making the choice for their children."

The application process this year will be different than the last couple of years. It will be combined with other scholarships into the Total Diocesan Tuition Application.

"A family will fill out the FAIR application - the same application we have used in the past," said Vickery. "At the same time, they will be applying for local tuition assistance as well as the Msgr. Lafferty Tuition Foundation."

The one difference between these grants is that the Msgr. Lafferty Tuition Foundation is for kindergarten through 12th grade and the Catherine Birzle Education Scholarship is available for students in high school only.

While the Msgr. Lafferty grants are only available to families who live in Iowa, the Catherine Birzle money is not limited to those who live in this state. "As long as the student is attending a Catholic school in the diocese, then they would be eligible for Catherine Birzle money," said Vickery.

In other words, those people applying for the Catherine Birzle Scholarship can be from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, etc. as long as they are attending or plan to attend a Catholic high school in the diocese.

In the past, the cost to apply for the Catherine Birzle Scholarship was covered by the trustees of the scholarship, but now applicants must pay the $17 fee that all people seeking tuition assistance must pay.

Along with the scholarship application and submitting the FAIR application, each student is to write a brief typed statement explaining why they believe they qualify for and deserve the scholarship. The statement should be a maximum of 250 words.

With the statement the student should also include the extracurricular activities they are involved in such as missions work, membership organizations, church involvement and aspirations for a full-time career choice following high school.

This is a year-by-year scholarship. Students need to reapply for the scholarship each year to continue receiving the funds.

Recipients will be designated from applicants who the committee determines to meet the following qualifications:

*Students with financial needs who are attending or will attend a Catholic high school in the Diocese of Sioux City.

*Students who show an interest in full-time religious work such as missionaries, priests, nuns and teachers.

The Catherine Birzle Education Scholarship committee consists of Royce Ranniger, designee; Kevin Vickery, superintendent of Catholic schools of the Diocese of Sioux City; Brad Thiel, principal at Spalding High School and Jim Wesselmann, principal at Remsen St. Mary's. A representative from Security National Bank, Jami Wermers, is also part of the committee.

The application fee is $17. Applications will be available at all diocesan schools and need to be post-marked by April 16. The application is available on-line at www.fairapp.com.