Emma Seilstad, a student from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, recently received the first-ever Kerrie Orozco Memorial Scholarship.
Orozco was shot and killed just over two years ago while on duty as an Omaha Police officer.
Jerry Mathiasen – President and CEO of the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation -- says an endowment fund was set up at PCCF with money left over when Orozco’s home town of Walnut, Iowa held a fun run to honor her. He says this scholarship winner must be from Southwest Iowa and should share some of the Orozco’s finest traits.
“And in Kerrie’s case, they talked to the family and they talked to the friends, and they ended up saying they wanted to find students going on to college who had a passion for helping others, believed strongly in teamwork, and had a strong drive to get things done. And Kerrie really showed a lot of that – she was a giving mother and police officer, and the scholarship is intended to reflect those types of characteristics in students for the future.”
Mathiasen says the scholarship, which is administered by the Southwest Iowa Educational Foundation, can be used to attend a two-year or four-year college in any state.
For more information, the website is ourpccf.org