UNL honors World-Herald, Distinguished Scholars

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln recognized top Nebraska high school seniors for their academic excellence at the 2004 Omaha World-Herald Recognition dinner Nov. 4.

These Distinguished Scholars have demonstrated a high level of ability and a strong commitment to superior performance in academics as indicated by their class ranking, combined with their ACT or SAT test scores. All Nebraska National Merit Semi-Finalists, National Hispanic Scholars and National Achievement Scholars were also recognized.

In addition to sponsoring the recognition dinner, the Omaha World-Herald sponsors the most prestigious and financially rewarding scholarships awarded by the university. John Gottschalk, chairman and CEO at the Omaha World-Herald, presented Charles Serfass and Jamie Unger, two Nebraska freshmen, with this year's award of World-Herald Honors Scholars.

Serfass is National Merit Scholar and a graduate of Omaha Central High School. A music education major, he is active in the university wind ensemble and the bassoon quartet.

Unger is a National Merit Scholar and a graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School. A music education/pre-medicine major, she is active in the cast of "Madama Butterfly," her sorority, Delta Gamma, and concert choir.

The World-Herald Recognition Dinner at the Embassy Suites in Lincoln culminated a full day of events for the Distinguished Scholars. The Distinguished Scholars Day gives students the opportunity to learn more about the academic programs offered at Nebraska through the University Honors Program. Students and parents also join in on a Creation of Knowledge Tour where they get a glimpse of research and other academic opportunities for undergraduate students. They learned about music, journalism and engineering. All students interacted in small seminar classes on subjects including ethics in business, history, language and images, philosophy, photojournalism, biotechnology, political science, management and chemistry.

A list of Distinguished Scholars follows by hometown (the name of the student's high school is included in parentheses if it differs from the town).

Adams: Matthew Troupe (Norris).

Albion: Kyle Young (Boone Central).

Alliance: Christopher Cummings, Danita Curtiss, Katherine Guenther, Maura Trumble, Aaron Watkins.

Ashland: Sheila Bentzen (Ashland-Greenwood).

Atkinson: Mary Hendricks (West Holt).

Aurora: Ashley McCarthy, Jarryd Widhalm.

Bancroft: Ellen Andrews (Bancroft-Rosalie), Jessica Cerny (Bancroft-Rosalie).

Beatrice: Wes Cammack (Tri County).

Beaver Lake: Cassandra Lyons (Conestoga).

Bellevue:, Nickolas Clark (West), Catherine Crider (East), Michael Guericke (East), Jon Harless (West), Matthew Kyriss (West), Geoffrey McMullin (West), Amanda Nelson (East), Shana Norris (West), David Pierce (West)., Benjamin Plowman (East), Tessa Prucinsky (West), Kevin Sueper (East), Jonathan Swift (West), Amanda Tracey (West), Zachary Wilson (West)

Bellwood: Lukas Bomar (David City Aquinas), Ryan Hassebrook (David City).

Bennington: Jason Jewell (Millard North), Crystal Reyelts (Omaha Marian).

Blair: Sarah Powers, Donald Loudner.

Bloomfield: Rebecca Carhart.

Cairo: Nathan Lowry (Centura).

Cedar Rapids: Brent Schuele.

Central City: Kristi Johnson (Nebraska Christian).

Chadron: Matthew Janssen, Ty Werdel.

Chappell: Lars Anderson (Creek Valley).

Clarkson: Rita Vogel (Howells).

Columbus: Wyatt Kent, Gregory Stecker, Austin Steiner, Adam Urkoski (Lakeview).

Cozad: Austin Brockmeier.

Crawford: Timothy Moloney.

Creighton: Jonathon DeMuth.

Crete: Aimee Schwab.

Crofton: Katrina Uhing, Natalie Van Heek.

Davenport: Ross Hunter (Deshler).

Davey: Emily Smith (Raymond Central).

Denton: Erik Person (Lincoln Southeast)

Deshler: Jordan Pohlmann.

Doniphan: Lindsey Skrdlant (Doniphan-Trumbull).

Elk Creek: Cassandra Beethe (Tecumseh).

Elkhorn: Genevieve Lozier.

Fairbury: Michael Fox.

Fort Calhoun: Andrew Shields.

Fremont: Brett Hamilton, Thomas McKnight (Elkhorn Mount Michael), Chad Wilshusen, Deidra Jacobsen, Veronica Hanus (home school).

Fullerton: Jessica Milby, Matthew Nespor, Tracy Sonderup.

Gordon: Criffton Robinson.

Gothenburg: Clark McPheeters.

Grand Island: Lindsay Calhoon (Northwest), Eric Frandsen (Central Catholic), Anna Galbraith, Christopher Northup (Central Catholic), Sarah Wirth (Central Catholic).

Gretna: Dustan Ahrens (Lincoln High), Ryan Gentzler, Amanda Huckins, Nathan Jones.

Halsey: Sarah Rogers (Sandhills).

Hampton: Nicole Hutsell.

Hastings: Teresa Dwyer, Anthony Gerber, Kathryn Howard, Brett Schlueter, Jessie Winter.

Hay Springs: Lane Roberts.

Heartwell: Anna Wilkinson (Minden).

Hebron: Dustin Simpson (Thayer Central).

Herman: Maggie Kuhlmann (Tekamah-Herman).

Hickman: Benjamin Hage (Norris).

Holdrege: Eric Hald.

Humphrey: Natalie German (St. Francis).

Hyannis: Joshua Hebbert.

Imperial: Peter Scott (Chase County).

Inland: Erin Ablott (Hastings).

Juniata: Amy Kroll (Kenesaw).

Kearney: Eric Fattig, Colene Haffke, Brent Hanson, Vanessa Hatfield, Christopher Jensen, Jason Kile, Daniel Norwood (Catholic), Trenton Talbitzer.

Keystone: Daniel Auwerda (Ogallala).

Kimball: Alana Wallace.

LaVista: Scott Kenealy (Ralston), Charles Lucas (Papillion-LaVista).

Lincoln: Lindsey Allen (East), Patrick Braga-Henebry (Pius X), Hannah Breckbill (Northeast), Adam Breitbarth (East), Allison Brestel (East), Whitney Bruhn (Southeast), Nadia Bulkin (East), Timothy Carrell (East), Kimberly Dahl (East), Jefferson Draney (East), Amanda Ferguson (Southeast), Nickolas Fretes (East), Benjamin Grone (Parkview Christian), Daon Ha (Omaha Duchesne), Jason Haase (East), Stephen Hassler (Southwest), Jon Hedgecock (Southeast), Nicole Heibel (Lutheran), Megan Hein (Southeast), Jesse Hostetler (East), Maxwell Hubka (Lincoln High), Ann Hunter-Pirtle (East), Lisa Karel (Norris), Jesse Keelan (Northeast), Joel Keralis (Norris), Amy Lathrop (Lincoln High), Charles Lippstreu (Southeast), Rebecca Lodes (Lincoln High), Caitlin Luke (Southwest), Anish Mitra (East), Nhu-Y Ngo (Lincoln High), Kyle O'Donnell (Pius X), Ryan Ohs (Southeast), Laura Pearson (Pius X), Nicole Pepperl (Southeast), Caleb Phillips (Southeast), Rudolph Resch (Lincoln High), Peter Scheyer (East), Brent Schmoker (Southeast), Liam Stringham (Northeast), Andrew Thierolf (Southwest), Skylin Thompson (East), Yue Wu (East), Sasha Zheng (East), Emily Zimmer (Lincoln High).

Louisville: Aaron Krause.

Madison: Rachel Wolken (Lutheran High Northeast).

McCook: Karl Shaddock, Jessica Watkins, Courtney Moore.

McCool Junction: Justin Meade (York).

Meadow Grove: Jason Grant (Battle Creek).

Milford: Christine Baughman.

Minatare: Whitney Larson (Scottsbluff).

Morrill: Katy Anderson, Andrea Fredrickson (Mitchell).

Nebraska City: John Palmtag.

Newcastle: Jacob Geis (Vermillion), Daniel Grosvenor.

North Platte: Josh Erlandson, Alicia Halter (St. Patrick), Nathan Wieseler (St. Patrick), Zachary Wilson.

Omaha: Erica Anderson (Northwest), Jill Anderson (Northwest), Kyle Bainbridge (Millard North), Kelli Balm (Millard North), Neha Balmoori (Millard West), Dana Barnes (North), Kaitlin Barr (Central), Steven Behrens (Millard South), Jessica Beran (Millard South), Adam Bogardus (Westside), Dayla Boldt (Millard North), Alexander Boosalis (Westside), Burke Bourne (Millard North), Robert Bowen (Creighton Prep), Jessica Braun (Millard South), Spencer Brown (Creighton Prep), Abigail Camp (Central), Andrew Cinnamon (Millard South), Elizabeth Cody (Westside), Tyler Coffey (Millard South), Alexander Contryman (Millard West), Adam Cornish (Central), Alexander Crockett (North), Benjamin Deeb (North), Sean Denning (Millard West), Cassandra Dorr (Skutt), Amanda Dworak (Millard North), Nick Ebert (Millard West), Russell Ehlinger (Creighton Prep), Matthew Fenwick (Westside), Mark Fluehr (Burke), Andrew Furman (Millard West), Amanda Gilmore (North), Jillian Goodman (Westside), Jennifer Gorcos (North), Robert Gordy (Millard South), Daniel Gorski (Creighton Prep), Katelyn Gyhra (Millard North), Alina Harbourne (Burke), Jason Hartman (Westside), Peter Haug (Gross), Thomas Heafey (Central), Alise Hernandez (Westside), George Hodson (Westside), Whitney Ijem (Duchesne), Caitrin Jones (Skutt), Jonathan Jones (Millard West), Zachary Kain (Central), Matthew Kaipust (Creighton Prep), Brian Kaplinger (Millard South), Jordan Kenik (Millard South), Sean Kennedy (Creighton Prep), Eric Kizaki (Westside), Peter Knudtson (Creighton Prep), Anne Kunsemiller (Duchesne), Katie Langenfeld (Millard South), Casey Langwith (Marian), Geoffrey Lapole (Creighton Prep), Gwendolyn Lawson (Westside), Stephen Liu (Westside), Brent Lockee (Elkhorn Mount Michael), Melissa Lord (Mercy), Evan Luxon (North), Anne Marfisi (North), Margaret Marshall (Millard North), Jacob Maxson (Millard South), Katherine McCabe (Marian), Kathleen McKillip (Marian), Colin McMahon (Creighton Prep), Amanda Meier (Marian), Matt Messel (Westside), Caitlin Monaghan (Central), Michael Moses (Ralston), Tommy Muelleman (Creighton Prep), Alisha O'Malley (Burke), Michael Passarelli (Creighton Prep), Jessica Perrigan (Duchesne), William Pflug (Millard South), Andrew Philson (Burke), Jenna Pont (Skutt), Philip Ramge (Westside), Abby Reid (Skutt), Craig Reeson (Creighton Prep), Shayla Reffert (Millard West), Rae Rohlfsen (Millard South), Marshall Schiring (Millard West), Jason Schnack (Burke), Matthew Schrum (Creighton Prep), Matt Seidholz (Creighton Prep), Kyle Shanahan (Ralston), Zachary Sherman (Creighton Prep), Amelia Shuster (Central), Daniel Smith (Creighton Prep), Richard Smith (Brownell-Talbot), Courtney Stein (Ralston), Mallory Stevens (North), Michael Storey (Millard North), Elizabeth Straley (Marian), Ellen Stryker (Marian), Nick Stuberg (Central), Meghan Sundermeier (Marian), Eric Svingen (Millard North), Natalie Swanda (Burke), Travis Tettenborn (Burke), Ali Thariani (Westside), Paula Thielen (Marian), Bradley Trost (Burke), Anna Turetsky (Millard North), Michaela Wallerstedt (Burke), Adam West (Burke), Andrew West (Burke), Jill Westcott (North), Scott Willcockson (Burke), Christine Williamson (Skutt), Hannah Wunsch (Central), Zhe Xu (Millard North), Cecily Zdan (Central), Lucy Zukaitis (Westside).

Overton: Kristina Hubbard.

Pacific Junction, Iowa: Ryan Dierks (Omaha Creighton Prep).

Palmer: Nicole Glynn.

Panama: Mark Onwiler (Norris).

Papillion: Katherine Anderson (Papillion-LaVista South), Thomas Arrance (Papillion-LaVista), Gregory Averill (Papillion-LaVista), Michael Black (Omaha Gross), Sarah Brandeau (Omaha Mercy), Jason Colasacco (Omaha Gross), Christopher DuBois (Papillion-LaVista), Bridget Leuschen (Omaha Duchesne), Anna Furby (Papillion-LaVista), Moira Ritterbush (Omaha Gross), Nicole Schwarz (Platteview), Katherine Warner (Bellevue West), Adam Wattenbarger (Papillion-LaVista South).

Petersburg: Rachel Faust (Boone Central).

Plattsmouth: Douglas Given (home school), Jonathon Irons.

Roca: Meghan Sonenberg (Lincoln Pius X).

Royal: Jordan Curtis (Creighton).

Saint Paul: Tyler Bragg.

Scottsbluff: Sarah Holdt.

Seward: Kjersten Langewisch (Lincoln Lutheran).

Shickley: Kathleen Lichti.

Sidney: Rosa Beyer, Alan Mock.

Springfield: Elisha Klassen (Platteview).

Stanton: Melani Hall (Norfolk).

Sutton: Michaela Griess, Margaret Mohnike.

Trenton: Benjamin Franzen (Lakeside Central).

Upland: Thomas Soucie (Franklin).

Valentine: Nicholas Klein.

Valparaiso: Samuel Sercl (Raymond Central).

Verdon: Matthew James (Southeast Nebraska Consolidated).

Wahoo: Jacob Mach (Neumann).

Walton: Trevor Torpin (Waverly), Karin Wentzel (Waverly).

Waverly: Joshua Hall, Jordan Neuhart.

Wayne: Ashley Gentrup, Adem Rudin.

West Point: Phillip Erb, Amanda Miller, Lisa Thayer (Central Catholic).

Weston: Bridget Meduna (Wahoo Neumann).

York: Ryan Roemmich, Amanda Schnell, Nathan Stahr.

CONTACT: Joan Kunzman, Admissions, (402) 472-8376