Photos of seven people, who are the people in whom these seven scholarships were created to honor

Application open for Seven Unique Scholarships

Seven unique scholarships, with applications and award cycles which differ from the main CFNIL Scholarships program, are accepting applicants until May 31st. **Deadline has been extended to 5:00pm on Friday, June 3rd!** Applications must be submitted via CFNIL’s online application portal. Each scholarship has distinct criteria, represent a broad range of educational and career aspirations, and each was created to honor the memory of someone much-loved by the donors who established the awards.

Four of the seven scholarships are designated for members or family of members of IAFF Local 413 Firefighters, or students who are studying fire science or to be an EMT. Students complete one application to apply for all four:

  • Lieutenant Kelli Ingardona Memorial Scholarship
  • Phyllis Howard Memorial Scholarship
  • Terrance Freeman Sr. Memorial Scholarship
  • Tyler Kinison Memorial Scholarship

The remaining three scholarships have individual applications:

  • Daniel Edwards Memorial Scholarship: Provides educational resources to students from Ogle County who are pursuing a career in the skilled trades. Applicants must be a resident of Ogle County and pursuing a career in a skilled trade which does not typically require a bachelor's degree, such as auto repair, diesel mechanics, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, or welding.
  • Diane Thompson-Wells Memorial Scholarship: Provides educational resources for marching members of the Phantom Regiments Drum & Bugle Corps. Applicants must be a graduating HS senior or current four-year college/university student who is a current marching member of the Phantom Regiment. Applicants may reside anywhere within the United States. 
  • Richard J. Schnell Memorial Scholarship: Provides educational resources for students pursuing a career in dentistry or dental hygiene. Applicants must be enrolled in an ADA-accredited dental or dental hygiene program, or a graduate post-doc program, in the state of Illinois or at Indiana University School of Dentistry.

Additional criteria may apply for each scholarship. Visit https://cfnil.org/scholarships for full criteria and program details.

All applicants for these scholarships must be submitted through CFNIL’s online application portal by 5:00 pm on May 31st, 2022. Deadline has been extended to Friday, June 3rd! Applications are read and scored by committees of volunteers who use a “blind” review process and make award recommendations to CFNIL’s Board of Trustees. Scholarship recipients for these special off-cycle scholarships will be announced in June. Awards are sent directly to the school the recipient will be attending. Interested students should visit https://cfnil.org/scholarships to learn more and apply.