Scholarship opportunities for FHS and Pekin students

This is a series of informative articles regarding the scholarships available from The Greater Jefferson County Foundation.

Jefferson County Senior Students have a unique opportunity to apply for over $150,000 of scholarships created by dedicated donors and administered by The Greater Jefferson County, who celebrates 50 years of service to Jefferson County in 2025.

In 1998, the Karlena ‘Dub” Thoma scholarship was created to reward two graduating senior students with excellent Math skills. This scholarship is generally between $1,200 and $1,400, depending on the year.

The Jefferson County Pork Producers sponsor a scholarship of $1,000 annually for a Pekin or FHS Senior student who has a family member in pork production and who will be focusing on Agriculture or Ag/Business.

The Zillman Conservation Scholarship is all in the name. This scholarship is for a graduating FHS Senior student residing in Jefferson County with a sincere interest in conservation, wildlife management, or studies related to our ecology and environment.

The Ralph Perry Scholarship is $5,000 each and awarded to six FHS seniors with Financial Need.

The Robert & Anna Wiseman scholarship was created in 2002 to award a graduating FHS Senior student who participated in Varsity Wrestling during their career at FHS. It is $1,000.

In addition to scholarship for students just beginning their postgraduate studies, the Foundation also administers two scholarships for teachers pursuing their Masters Degrees. The Leyden scholarship is $1,000 and the Harold & Catherine Turner Scholarship is $5,000.

The John Jackson Scholarship is up to two $5,000 scholarships awarded to FHS students who have been part of the concert or marching band at FHS and will be studying an area of music at their college.

The Grace Roberts $1,000 scholarship is for a student pursuing a career in Nursing.

The Jeanne Thoma Scholarship is also $1,000 and is an Open scholarship mased on Financial Need.

In this second article of the series, nine scholarships have been emphasized to show the range of scholarship opportunities for graduating Senior students, with many more to come.

The 2026 scholarship application process will begin Nov. 1, 2025 with a deadline of Feb. 1, 2026. Both FHS and Pekin senior students are welcome to apply. Online applications will be available on the application website at www.gjcfscholarships.org. For more information, contact the Foundation at gjcf0758@windstream.net or call 641-472-0758. View our FaceBook page for information as well!