The History Behind The Marjorie Wrezic Scholarship
All photos submitted by Hokanson.
Emily Hokanson
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Marjorie Wrezic Scholarship program since its establishment in 2013. In light of this milestone and being one of the four recipients of the scholarship this year, I decided to sit down with Marjorie and her daughter, Gwen LaFond, to discuss Marjorie’s life and how one incredible idea became a reality.
Marjorie’s Life
As I’ve become acquainted with Marjorie and her story, I’ve learned that her success did not come easily.
Marjorie was the youngest of 6 children, born in 1927, just before the Great Depression on a small farm in Arcadia, Wisconsin. To uphold the needs of their family, it was expected that Marjorie and her siblings complete chores for their father’s grocery store before going to school. The children woke up at 3 o’clock in the morning to complete all their duties, so they could have the opportunity to attend school.
Later on, at age 15, Marjorie’s mother passed away. It was a difficult time, but Marjorie persevered and continued her education at St. John’s Cathedral. After school, she continued to work hard and successfully raised three of her own children.
Nothing came easy for Marjorie, but through every hardship she found a light. Marjorie is a symbol of hard-work and determination.
Marjorie’s late husband, Ralph Wrezic, was also a person of integrity and perseverance. At the young age of 17 he began his first trucking business. Sadly, his father seized his first company because he was underage.
Ralph began again, and with his education and perseverance he was able to start a second trucking company. He helped create the wealth that allows Marjorie to fund the scholarships that are awarded to HHS students every year. Their hard-work and dedication to this community is what made the Marjorie Wrezic Scholarship program possible at Hamilton High School.
The Scholarship
It all began with Marjorie’s two granddaughters, Lauren and Ashley, who attended Hamilton High School. As Lauren and Ashley went through high school at Hamilton, Marjorie quickly began to notice something “special” about their school experience. Both Marjorie and Gwen vividly remember the many stories Lauren and Ashley would come home with, excited to share what they’d learned from various teachers who had an impact on them.
When discussing these memories, Marjorie stated, “It was truly remarkable to see how teachers had the ability to interest children and leave them with the idea to go home and talk about it.”
Although there were many teachers that had an impact on both girls, the one that they still talk about today is Steve Younk, former social studies teacher and musical director at HHS. The passion he had for his students is what made his impact so great.
After seeing her granddaughters have a high school experience they’ll remember forever, she knew she wanted to give back to the school. Marjorie came to the conclusion that the best way to do this was by starting a scholarship program to assist HHS students in pursuing their dreams. Once she discussed the idea with her family, daughter Gwen and her husband, Michael, quickly began setting up a trust for the scholarship.
On August 29, 2013, the Hamilton Education Foundation Marjorie Wrezic Scholarship was officially established! The first round of scholarships were then granted during the spring of 2014 and will continue to be awarded to students indefinitely.
2023 Marjorie Wrezic Scholarship Recipients (Left to Right): Mitchell Anderson, Emily Hokanson, Rayanna Parnitzke (Not Pictured: Jacob Saunders)
The Impact
Since its establishment in 2013, 31 scholarships have been awarded to numerous HHS students. As the scholarship program continues, its impact has extended to both HHS students and Marjorie’s family.
One of Marjorie’s favorite parts about the scholarship is being able to see the success stories of recipients as they grow into adults. Marjorie’s family has had the honor of seeing firsthand the array of success stories from nurses to engineers to dieticians to lawyers and more!
When asked what the most rewarding part of this scholarship is, Marjorie said, “It’s most rewarding to me that I’m able to play a role in helping our youth get ahead when it comes to their future career and life.”
As the success stories continue, Gwen emphasizes how important it is that they maintain connections with scholarship recipients to both see their accomplishments and continue to be a support in any shape or form.
Though Marjorie has had an incredible impact on HHS students, it doesn’t stop there. Recently she has invested greatly into the Cross Trainers Academy through The Milwaukee Rescue Mission and has created another scholarship fund through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, known as The Wrezic Family Scholarship.
Marjorie and her family plan on donating to all of these programs for a long time to come. Their hopes are that they can contribute to the success of youth in the Wisconsin community for as long as they are able.
It is often said that nothing lasts forever, but in this case that could not be farther from the truth. The impact Marjorie and her family have left on the students of Hamilton will be remembered for a lifetime. Thank you, Marjorie Wrezic!
