Bonnie Rietz of The Hormel Foundation awarded Cycles for Success scholarships as part of Austin High’s 2013 Scholarship Ceremony at Austin High School’s Christgau Hall May 23. The Hormel Foundation is dedicated to help Austin students attend Riverland Community College. More than $540,000 in “Cycles for Success” scholarships have been awarded in the past three years to graduates of Austin High School and Pacelli Catholic Schools.

Scholarship amounts range from $1,000 to 6,000 based on the student’s financial need.

This year, 35 of the 61 applicants received scholarships bringing the total number of Cycles for Success scholarships funded to 169 students since 2010 when the program was created. Students who attend four years and graduate from Austin and Pacelli High Schools are eligible to use the scholarships funded for postsecondary education at Riverland Community College. The program’s goals are designed to empower students with financial barriers to overcome so they will enroll at Riverland, complete their college education, and remain in the community as skilled members of the workforce. Priority is given to the middle 50 percent of their class ranking because they will not have other resources available to them.

“The Cycles for Success scholarship program is changing lives for our students and their families,” said Danielle Heiny, Cycles for Success program director. “Many students would never have had an opportunity to attend college without the scholarship. The students are so grateful for the investment in their future. They are also grateful that The Hormel Foundation sees their potential and is helping make their dreams come true. Our community is benefiting because we have skilled employees who want to stay in this area to live and work. Graduates include mechanics, health care professionals, human services, business, law enforcement, cosmetology just to name a few of the majors.”

Heiny said 30 of the students who received scholarships during the first three years of the program have graduated. Many are working in the area using skills and education gained at Riverland. Others have completed their Associate in Arts degree (liberal arts) at Riverland and transferred to other colleges and universities to pursue a bachelor's degree.

“Our students are our future and it is so exciting to see the difference the scholarships can make in their lives,” said Bonnie Rietz, Riverland Community College Foundation past president. “We hear from student after student how beneficial the scholarships are in helping them to finish their college degrees. We are blessed as a community to have people who care about our youth and want them to have an excellent education.”