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Scholarship Winner 2011 - Damon Fichter & Alyssa Slinn
Damon Fichter
Alyssa Slinn
DSU student named as mentor scholarship winner
DICKINSON, N.D. – The Best Friends Mentoring Program announces that, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, two students have been selected to receive the eighth annual scholarship awarded volunteers in the program. Alyssa Slinn and Damon Fichter were selected as this year’s recipients.
Alyssa Slinn,a senior at Dickinson State University, is majoring in history education. Originally from Regina, Sask., she signed up for the Best Friends Mentoring Program in fall of 2009 and was matched with her first Junior Friend in January 2010. She has been a mentor to two girls in the Best Friends Program while competing in barrel racing at DSU, majoring in history education and completing a 240-hour internship.
Alyssa, who meets with her Junior Friend on weekends, became a mentor because she “wanted to make a difference.” “I’ve been blessed and I wanted to give back,” she said. “You gain a lot, and they show you things you didn’t know. It’s a two way street.”
Damon Fichter, a Dickinson High School graduate, now attends DSU. As a high school student, Damon shared some of his free time mentoring an elementary school boy once a week during his lunch hour while participating in band, chorus, speech and drama. He has won state level awards in several of these activities and has also excelled academically.
Damon plans to pursue a career in music education. working with music students of all ages to see where he can make the best use of his talents.
The Western Wellness Foundation’s board of directors established the Best Friends Program Senior Friend Scholarship to help recruit new mentors to the program and to encourage potential mentors to volunteer. To be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must have volunteered as a Senior Friend with the Best Friends Program for at least nine months, submit an application form and an essay, and be attending post-secondary education or training in the 2011-2012 school year.
The Best Friends Program served more than 220 children last year in the eight-county area of southwest North Dakota, matching them one-to-one or in small groups with responsible, trained volunteer mentors. For information about Best Friends, call 483-8615 or 1-877-877-8685 toll free.
Past Scholarship Winners
