Dollars For Scholars awards $247,000 in scholarships to 124 Detroit Lakes seniors

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The Dollars For Scholars committee in Detroit Lakes awarded more than $247,000 in scholarships to 124 Detroit Lakes High School seniors on May 1.

The scholarships were funded through donations from dozens of lakes area businesses, nonprofit organizations, foundations and individuals.

Hunter Korth, right, a Detroit Lakes senior, smiles for a photo after receiving the Royale B. and Eleanor M. Arvig Memorial Scholarship during the 2023 Dollars For Scholars event at Lakeshirts Fieldhouse in Detroit Lakes on May 1, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM News)

Doreen Richter, a Dollars For Scholars committee member, thanked the other members of the committee and spoke to the students during the ceremony.

“Congratulations,” Richter said. “We are so proud of you and excited for what your future will hold.”

She went on to applaud the members of the committee for their work in securing donations from each of the organizations, anonymously scoring each students application and administering the awards for this year’s student recipients.

Dr. Thomas Seaworth, chair of the Dollars For Scholars Committee, announced the final scholarship of the evening, donated by the Robert and June Paulson Scholarship Fund.

“Moving away, they made their fortune elsewhere, but they never forgot where they came from,” Seaworth said. “And they have donated very generously back to their high schools. His wife was a graduate of Hopkins in Minneapolis and he was a graduate of Detroit Lakes, here. This year’s scholarship is worth $68,432 and this year’s recipient is Lily Martinson.”

Martinson will be attending Minnesota State University Moorhead in the fall and will be majoring in early-childhood education.

The scholarship recipients, on average, each received about a $1,000 from the Dollars For Scholars program.

After the meeting, Seaworth reflected on how special this moment is the lives of these students, one whom of which, was standing next to him and was someone he has known for a long time.

  “It’s a pretty exciting time for these young men and women considering this scholarship awardee, I delivered her, and that’s pretty special to be able to see that, her sister got one of the Seaworth scholarships, so there’s those connections,” said Seaworth.

Additional information on the Detroit Lakes Dollars For Scholars can be found on the organization’s website.

Students attend the 2023 Dollars For Scholars award ceremony at Lakeshirts Fieldhouse in Detroit Lake on May 1, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM News)