Crookston Rotary Club recently awarded their Fall 2022 scholarships to University of Minnesota Crookston Students of the Month Braden Letourneau, Annjelica Moreno-Englebrecht, Samantha Olek, and John LaCoursiere. The students were recognized and awarded on January 27 at halftime of the basketball game in Lysaker Gymnasium.
These awards are presented each month during the school year to a UMN Crookston student who has demonstrated outstanding achievements in academics and service.
The September 2022 Rotary Student of the Month was Braden Letourneau, an animal science major with equine science and pre-vet concentrations from White Bear Lake, Minn. He was presented by Terrill Bradford who is an instructor in the Agriculture and Natural Resources department. Letourneau is a leader on the student committee that has planned the annual event Ag-Arama and was listed on the 2020-2021 Dean’s list. One of his favorite hobbies is swing dancing, and Letourneau is an active member of the UMC Swing Dancing Club. Letourneau's plans after graduation are to work to attend vet school at UMN Twin Cities. He said he chose UMN Crookston because of the school’s excellent reputation in the field of agriculture.
The October 2022 Rotary Student of the Month was Annjelica Moreno-Englebrecht, a business management and marketing double major plus a minor in sport and recreation management from Oceanside, Calif. She was presented by Craig Miller who is a senior lecturer in the Business department. Moreno-Englebrecht recently joined the UMC Collegiate DECA group which is an association of marketing students, and her favorite hobbies are going to the beach, playing softball, and hanging out with family. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to receive her MBA. Moreno-Englebrecht chose UMN Crookston because of everything it has to offer and, of course, the big degree. She loves that the staff and faculty on campus are so helpful and genuinely care about their students’ success.
The November 2022 Rotary Student of the Month was Samantha Olek, a software engineering major and music minor from Red Lake Falls, Minn. She was presented by George French who is an associate professor of Music and Theatre. Olek is one of the essential workers at the UMC Help Desk, being one of the few students who are able to keep the help desk open in the summer which is critically important. She is active in the Golden Eagle Entertainment and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance clubs. Olek is also a lead alto in the UMC Choir and has had major roles in the past two musicals, and looks forward to a leading role in the upcoming play “Walden.” Her favorite hobbies are reading, playing the flute, and crocheting. Olek says she likes UMN Crookston because of how it feels like a community. Her future goals include working as a software engineer at Digi-Key.
The December 2022 Rotary Student of the Month was John LaCoursiere, a health sciences major and chemistry minor from Red Lake Falls, Minn. He was presented by Tim Dudley who is an associate professor in the Math, Science, and Technology department and the faculty athletics representative. LaCoursiere has been helping with the CREST program at UMN Crookston which is the Center for Rural Education in Science and Technology. Some of LaCoursiere’s favorite hobbies include playing hockey, hunting, and fishing. After graduation, he will be applying to dental school at the University of Minnesota.
