Kane County Fair board awards scholarship to St. Charles East graduate

ST. CHARLES – Three area 4-H Club members are the recipients of the 2019 Kane County Fair scholarships. Each student is an active 4-H member and will receive $750 per year for four years, a total of $3,000, to complete their education.

“We are pleased to continue the tradition of awarding scholarships to worthy young students in our 4-H community,” stated Larry Breon, chairman of the Kane County Fair board of directors, in a press release. “It’s an honor for us to award monetary assistance to these three outstanding students who have achieved academic excellence, given back to their communities, and set high goals for future success.”

Meredith Abbs, a graduate of St. Charles East High School, will attend the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point to study forestry to become a ranger in a national park, according to a news release from the Kane County Fair board.

A lifelong lover of animals and nature, Abbs has volunteer service with the Chicago Zoological Society as a King Conservation Scholar; the Fox Valley Wildlife Center and as an exhibitor with Kane County Fantastics 4-H.

Abbs’ 2018 4-H wildlife project on bison and their journey back from the brink of near extinction was awarded Kane County Fair Grand Champion and earned a superior ribbon at the 2018 Illinois State Fair. Abbs was part of her high school’s Gamer’s Club and the local theater group Marquee Youth Stage.

The two other winners, Noa Greenfeld of Elgin, who graduated from Larkin High School, will attend the University of Illinois to pursue a bachelor's degree in dance, and Brooke Wackerlin, who graduated from Indian Creek High School in Shabbona, will attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to study animal science.

Since the launching of its Kane County Fair 4-H scholarship program over ten years ago, many Kane County area 4-H students have been awarded financial assistance to further their education.

For more information, contact the Kane County Fair at (630) 584-6926.