Community Pulse: 2 local students receive Farrell Fellows Scholarship

The Community Foundation of Grundy County (CFGC) is happy to announce two local college students have been awarded the Farrell Fellows Scholarship. CFGC offers the two $10,000 scholarships in honor of Char and Mike Farrell to Grundy County residents who are currently enrolled at an accredited college or university and will be in their junior or senior year in the fall.

Char was a lifelong teacher and Mike was a career journalist, mainly at the Morris Daily Herald. In 2017, Mike was elected to the Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees where he was a valuable member because of his ability to recall numerous historical facts in his journalistic mind. Both Mike and Char passed away in recent years.

As part of their estate, Mike and Char gifted part of their assets to the Community Foundation of Grundy County to use at our discretion. To honor them both, these two scholarships were created to benefit Grundy County residents to assist in completing their degree. One $10,000 scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in education and another $10,000 scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in journalism, communications, or a similar degree. Because this fund is endowed, these two scholarships will be available annually forever.

This year the Education Scholarship in memory of Char & Mike Farrell was awarded to McKenzie Pilch. McKenzie graduated from Morris Community High School in 2020 and now attends Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where she majors in Elementary Education with a Concentration in Christian Education and Missions. McKenzie will be a senior in the Fall of 2024.

This year’s Farrell Fellows Academic Scholarship for Journalism/Communications was awarded to Andrea Barron. Andrea graduated from Morris Community High School in 2021 and now attends Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois, where she majors in Communication. Andrea will be a senior in the Fall of 2024.