Wichita State University has selected the 2021 recipients of the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships. Each student will receive a $64,000 scholarship to attend Wichita State University in fall 2021.  

The 2020 Gore Scholars are:

• Alondra Valle from Dodge City High School in Dodge City, Kansas
• Annie Wasinger from Thomas More Prep High School in Hays, Kansas
• Braden Webb from Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas

A total of 813 students completed in the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational – the largest in DSI history. To be invited to compete in the invitational, students had to have a 27 or higher ACT score, or a 3.5 or higher GPA, or rank in the top 10% of their class. Once invited, students completed an application, and 14 students were selected for final interviews.  

As with Gore Scholars before them, the three recipients this year are involved in their schools and communities and plan to do the same at Wichita State University.

Alondra Valle, who plans to major in forensic science, is the section leader for low-brass band, a three-year state qualifier in debate and an officer in the Dodge City High School Art Club since 2018. Alondra also attended the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership seminar in 2019, and she was recently accepted as a project manager and junior facilitator for 2021. She was named Woman of the Year in 2018 through Ladies Community Outreach after volunteering more than 400 hours of service. Erin Stevens, science teacher at Dodge City High School, said: “Alondra exhibits all of the traits that we wish our students to have at DCHS. She is hardworking, goal-oriented, empathetic and altruistic. She will use her successes in life to lend a hand to others and lift them up as well. Alondra is the type of person who will change the world in a positive way.” 

Annie Wasinger, who is interested in studying pre-law at Wichita State, has been a student council representative in high school, a state forensics qualifier, and has performed in several musicals and plays. She’s also the founder and director of Center Stage Theatre Camp, an organization created for adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities. Sara Bloom, executive director of the Downtown Hays Development Corp., said: “Annie shows love to everyone she meets, no exceptions. She not only questions the wrongs she sees in the world but takes steps to change the wrongs. She inspires me to be a better leader and think outside the box. She is the role model I want my children to look up to.”

Braden Webb plans to study computer science at Wichita State. He’s a member of a World Champion Robotics team and builds custom wheelchairs for children in his community through the Walkin’ and Rollin’ Organization. He has earned membership in four honor societies in his high school: National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Math National Honors Society and Science National Honors Society. Additionally, Braden made and donated COVID-19 face shields to health care workers and school and assembled and tested 3D printers that allow school staff to make their own face shields. Manette Ansay, mentor for the FIRST Tech Robotics team, said: “Braden quietly challenges traditional ideas of what leadership means. He doesn’t seek the spotlight, but the spotlight has a way of finding him, drawn by the excellence of his work and the generosity of his character. He will bring to WSU the qualities that have made him emerge as a leader of his team: steady kindness, personal integrity, a tireless work ethic, and a whole lot of talent.”

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Wichita State University serves as the Kansas urban-based research university, enrolling more than 15,000 students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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