High school seniors Briella Beemer and Regan Keesler have set their sights on careers in the STEM fields.
Their aspirations will be supported by the Gentex Foundation. The young women are this year’s recipients of the Amanda Clark Scholarship, established for female high school seniors pursuing a college degree in science, technology, engineering, and science (STEM).
Each will receive a $5,000 college scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year. The scholarship is renewable for up to three years for a total of $20,000 in tuition support. The scholarship was launched last year with scholarships given to its
first recipients.
Career goals
Beemer, a senior at Hudsonville High School, plans to pursue a degree in computer science at the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Hudsonville swim team, student council, and National Honor Society.
"I am constantly in awe of the new ways we can manipulate technology to do amazing things,” she explained in her essay submission for the scholarship. “I hope to one day take part in the accomplishments shared by the countless extraordinary women in the technology and math field.”
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GentexBriella Beemer
Keesler is a senior at Zeeland East High School. She will attend Ferris State University to major in mechanical engineering. Regan is active in the school’s FIRST Robotics Team program, church youth group, and holds a part-time job in engineering through her internship with CareerLine Tech Center.
“As I’m continuing my education in engineering, I look forward to any new opportunity that arises,” Keesler wrote in her essay. “I seek to make proactive changes in my local community, and to be an inspiration to the younger generation of female engineers.”
Scholarship in second year
The Amanda Clark Scholarship was created in memory of a Gentex employee who earned a manufacturing engineering degree from Kettering University and worked at Gentex for 8 years, using her technical skills in a variety of roles.
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GentexRegan Keesler
The Amanda Clark Scholarship Program will begin accepting applicants for the 2024-2025 school year on Sept. 1. Scholarship rules and requirements are available
here.
The
foundation provides grants to support a variety of causes, including economic development, business innovation, children’s services, education, public health, mental health, housing assistance, elder care, job training, family assistance, diversity initiatives, and physical and substance abuse programs.
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