WSU awards $48,000 Gore scholarships

Kansas high school seniors Jarret Krueger and Natalie Kuhlmann have won Wichita State University’s Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships.

The scholarships, awarded annually at WSU, recognize leadership and academic skills and are two of the largest undergraduate scholarships in Kansas.

Krueger, a senior at Wellington High School, and Kuhlmann, a senior at Olpe (Kan.) High School, will receive $12,000 a year for four years to attend Wichita State, totaling $48,000 each.

Jarret Krueger

Krueger is the son of David and Beth Krueger and Tracy and Tami McCue. He carries a 4.2 weighted GPA and plans to study entrepreneurship at Wichita State.

Krueger is involved in a multitude of activities, including the Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Scholars Bowl. He also is a member of the National Honor Society and is involved in the First United Methodist Church youth group in Wellington.

His volunteer and community service duties have included Big Brothers Big Sisters and becoming the self-led manager of all aspects of vending operations at Wellington High School.

For the past five years, Krueger has been owner and operator of Krueger’s Lawn Care Service. At the lawn care and landscaping firm, Krueger manages employees, equipment and payroll, as well as customer service, public relations and scheduling.

Roxanne Nance, office manager at Wellington High School, has known Krueger for 12 years. She said he is a unique student with abilities beyond his young age.

“He is a great role model for our students,” she said. “He is highly motivated, intelligent, organized and has an exceptional work ethic.”

Natalie Kuhlmann

Kuhlmann, who plans to study nursing at Wichita State, is the daughter of Steve and Diana Kuhlmann.

Kuhlmann’s list of activities is extensive. She’s highly involved in athletics at Olpe High School, where she is a member of the basketball, volleyball, softball and track and field teams. She was a member of the 2010 2-A state champion teams in basketball and track and field.

She is active in Student Council, KAY Club, Future Business Leaders of America and the 4-H Club. Her interests also reach into music, where she takes part in church choir, band and piano.

Kuhlmann spends a lot of time volunteering for different causes, including “65 Roses” for Cystic Fibrosis, organizing canned food drives and putting together packages for soldiers and holiday packages for elderly and shut-ins.

Her work experience includes assisting elders with Renewing Communities Across Generations and working as a waitress/hostess at Olpe Chicken House.

Teacher Michelle Barnhart, Kuhlmann’s former 4-H project leader, said Kuhlmann’s leadership skills have earned her the trust of students and staff at Olpe High School.

“Her influence on her peers, as well as the entire student body, has been extremely positive,” Barnhart said. “They know she is knowledgeable, organized, democratic, creative, fair and brings quality and excellence to everything with which she is involved.”

Background

Krueger and Kuhlmann competed in the one of the largest Distinguished Scholarship Invitationals in history, with 346 competitors.

To be invited to compete in the invitational, students had to have a 24 or higher ACT score and a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA.

Gore Scholarships have been awarded annually since 1954 to freshmen entering WSU who display outstanding potential for leadership. Theodore and Ralph Gore established the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship in 1952.