The Otsego Community Foundation scholarship application is open until March 6, 2024, for any high school senior attending one of the four local high schools—Johannesburg-Lewiston, Gaylord, Vanderbilt, and St. Mary’s. There are 12 scholarships managed through the OCF, and we are highlighting the Edward and Frances Burzynski scholarship fund this month.
This scholarship was started by the children of Frances and Edward Burzynski in 2006 as a temporary scholarship and was converted into a permanent fund in 2021 so that it can impact students for generations to come. Working with the OCF to establish this fund has been “seamless” according to the family. Since its inception, the scholarship has awarded $4500 to students pursuing higher education in agriculture, veterinary science, forestry, or a related field.
Frances and Edward instilled the importance of education in their seven children, evidenced by all of them achieving at least one college degree. “Knowledge is power,” Edward said to his children, quoting Sir Francis Bacon. A degree, education, was something that could not be taken away.
The Burzynskis shared their knowledge by leading 4-H groups for 40 years and were excellent stewards of their family farm, educating themselves on the best ways to take care of the land and crops.
Edward Burzynski worked for years at Standard Products. The company, along with its employees, awarded scholarships to local students. He was proud of the fact that his children received a couple of these scholarships. It seems fitting to honor the memory of a couple who valued education so highly and lived these ideals by establishing a scholarship in their name.
The hope is that the recipients of this scholarship not only use it to further their education, but that they may be called to help others in the future. This may be in the form of donating time, opportunities, knowledge, money, or setting up their own scholarship. Giving back in some way is something that Frances and Edward Burzynski modeled and taught throughout their lives.
To learn more about this scholarship fund, please visit our website. Email any questions to Amanda Sosa at amanda@otsegofoundation.org. If you would like to make a donation to the Edward and Frances Burzynski Fund, click here.