The Knights of Waukesha is a group of six friends from Waukesha, WI who have created a scholarship fund to give back to their community. Their $500 annual scholarship helps local high school seniors pay for college. Their vision is to grow the fund into an endowment to offer more scholarships and provide mentoring for recipients. They are fundraising with a goal of $50,000 to sustainably offer scholarships in the future.
2. Our mission is to give back to the community of Waukesha
by enhancing educational opportunities for local high school
seniors.
3. Our Story
Through an annual scholarship,
we work to give back to the
school district that helped us
set our path to our current
destinations in life.
The scholarship helps high
school students pay for rising
college costs.
The Knights of Waukesha is
comprised of six high school
friends who have gone to excel
in their respective fields in
various metropolitan areas of the
United States.
We attribute our success and
strength of friendship due to our
time in Waukesha and the
Waukesha Public School
System.
4. The Knights
Johnny Adamic - New York, NY
Obesity Task Force Manager - NYC Dept. Education
Jesse Bouman - Los Angeles, CA
Founder - Prepare.io
Dr. Brian Cone - Pittsburgh, PA
ER Resident - University of Pittsburgh
Chris Toman - Seattle, WA
Associate, Ecova
Andrew Hansen - Chicago, IL
Account Manager- Oracle
Willie Desmond - Phoenix, AZ
Vice President - HaystaqDNA
5. Scholarship Requirements
The Knights of Waukesha offers educational opportunity to high school students through our $500
annual scholarship.
The recipient of the Knights of Waukesha Scholarship must display dedication to the community,
a history of leadership, and a sense of creativity.
Last year we asked scholarship applicants to create a two minute video that articulated:
“During your life, what is the biggest contribution you wish to make to society? Why did you want
to do this and how are you going to bring this wish to fruition?”
Videos were judged based on:
- Honesty
- Passion
- Thoughtfulness
- Persuasion
- Plan of Action
Derek Sallmann’s 2013 Winning Video
6. Previous Winners
Meghan Holler - 2012 (West)
UW - Madison
Derek Sallmann - 2013 (West)
Wisconsin Lutheran College
Brenna Weisner - 2011 (West)
UW - Madison
7. Future Vision
The Knights of Waukesha have a greater vision for
the future of its scholarship.
1. Build our scholarship into an endowment to grow
the size and number of our annual awards.
2. Create a mentor network of Knights who can
advise on a variety of areas of expertise to
scholarship winners.
3. Allow partner organizations greater access to
Waukesha’s brightest graduating seniors.
8. Fundraising Goal
We have currently raised $1,500 to date. We are partnering with the
Waukesha County Community Foundation to manage our fund.
The $50,000 goal allows us to offer our two $1,00 annual
scholarships based on WCCF annual returns of 4.5%.
9. The Endowment
The Knights of Waukesha are partnering with the Waukesha County Community Foundation to manage our
fund. Established in 1999, the Foundation’s current endowment is about $24 million.
By partnering with WCCF, we are assured that our fund will be professionally managed and your donations
are tax deductible according to WCCF’s 501c3 status.
10. Donate
Send your check, made out to:
Waukesha County Community Foundation
2727 N. Grandview Blvd., Suite 122
Waukesha, WI 53188
Memo: Knights of Waukesha Scholarship
Donate Online:
http://knightsofwaukesha.org/donate
Donations of all sizes are greatly appreciated.