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Nine Colorado P.E.O. Scholarships, one International P.E.O. scholarship and one local P.E.O. scholarship have been recently awarded to Brush area students this spring. The students plan to continue or begin their respective master’s degree or bachelor’s degree programs this fall.
Two recent Brush High School alumni, Kenzie Kraich (2021) and Olivia Jilek (2023) were sponsored by Chapter T of Brush and named as two of 21 statewide recipients of the new Colorado P.E.O. Chapter House Scholarship this spring. Kraich’s and Jilek’s scholarships are for the 2025-2026 academic year and are each $3,000 awards. These scholarships were created in 2024 with the sale of the Colorado P.E.O. Chapter House senior living/bed and breakfast property in Colorado Springs.
Kenzie Kraich is a collegiate Chapter T member who received her bachelor’s degree this spring from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in strategic communication with a concentration in advertising and public relations. She will begin her master’s program in communications at OSU this fall.
Olivia Jilek is a third year nursing student at West Texas A & M University in Canyon, working this summer at a freestanding emergency department in Amarillo. Her anticipated graduation is December 2026.
Rachel Siegling, Chapter T’s nominee for the International P.E.O. STAR project, has recently been named one of the 2025 STAR recipients as well as a recipient of the Colorado P.E.O. State Scholarship Fund (CSSF). The STAR is a $2,500 highly competitive scholarship annually awarded to several students in each state and Canadian province. The 2025 CSSF Scholarships were varying awards of $1,000 to $3,000.
Rachel graduated from Fort Morgan High School this spring as class salutatorian, as well as Magna Cum Laude from Morgan Community College with an Associate of Science degree. The daughter of Chapter T vice president Juanita Siegling, she plans to attend the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to pursue a degree in Human Physiology and Nutrition and continue her education to become a physician’s assistant. Among her list of accomplishments, she was a four-time state gymnastics qualifier and two-time state track and field state qualifier. She received All-State Honorable Mention her senior year in gymnastics and was named the FMHS Don Malone Female Athlete of the Year.
Five additional students graduating from Brush High School in 2025 and one 2024 BHS graduate also received the Colorado State Scholarship Fund (CSSF). Sarah Becker and Brianna Ludgate, who will both major in nursing at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, were two of the recipients. Both completed the Morgan Community College (MCC) Health Science Technology program. Ludgate played softball for BHS. Becker was a standout in track and basketball. Her track relay team was the state champion in 2024, and she was also named All-State Honorable Mention in basketball.
BHS graduate Alexandra Hass, who will major in finance and minor in investments at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, is another CSSF recipient. In Future Business Leaders of America, she placed at districts and competed at state. Early in June, she competed in the World Archery competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, having recently placed in the Nationals Top 15 in Utah. She was also the Colorado archery state champion earlier this year.
BHS 2025 Salutatorian Noelle Ray will attend MCC to receive an Associate of General Studies degree. She held lead roles in the fall play and the spring musical, when she was cast as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. She was BHS Student Council Secretary and in drama club.
Destiny Reyes, another BHS graduate receiving a CSSF, will major in child psychology at MCC with a minor in human resources. She plans to continue her education and eventually receive a PhD in Child Psychology.
Kayla Garcia, a 2024 BHS alumni, is a nursing student continuing her studies at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, also receiving the CSSF. Garcia previously received this award in 2024, having finished her first year at MCC this spring. She plans to become a labor and delivery nurse and is employed at Beet Street in Brush.
Briseyda (Brisa) Aguirre-Garcia received the $1,500 Chapter T Local Scholarship given to a top BHS female graduate each spring. Aguirre-Garcia was the 2025 BHS Senior Class President and was honored twice by the Bank of Colorado for her academic excellence and school character. She played softball, was basketball co-captain, and competed in throwing events in track and field. She will play softball for NJC while pursuing an associate’s degree in business and studying photography.
Chapter T honored available scholarship recipients during two meetings in May and June. Established in March 2010, Chapter T is one of over 200 Colorado P.E.O. chapters. A philanthropic educational organization, the women’s international sisterhood has a mission to help women advance their lives through education. P.E.O. celebrates, supports, and motivates women of all ages. Seven college women founded P.E.O. in 1869 in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. P.E.O. has provided over $435 million in educational funding to over 125,000 women.
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