Joseph J. Hohner scholarship available

Applications for the Joseph J. Hohner Scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year now are available on the La Salle County Regional Office’s website at www.roe35.org.

Regional Superintendent Chris Dvorak said applications for the scholarship must be completed in their entirety and submitted to his office by 4:30 p.m. April 16.

Joseph J. Hohner was an Ottawa physician who died in 1972 and left a half-million dollar special trust fund, the interest of which provides scholarship money for full-time students who are legal residents of La Salle County.

More than 2.2 million dollars has been distributed since that time.

“Ottawa is truly unique in having such a scholarship program specifically and exclusively for its own students who pursue further academic or vocational goals,” Dvorak said.

The scholarship awards can be used for several different areas of education, including parochial elementary and secondary school tuition, and anything from a trade school to a bachelor’s degree or a doctorate. Most of the scholarships are awarded to college students. The individual awards have ranged from $100 to $2,250, distributed in two payments during the school year.

Because the scholarship is an annual scholarship, anyone wishing to be considered for a scholarship must complete and submit the entire application even if they have previously applied for or received an award. The Scholarship Committee will evaluate the applications in May with notification of awards being announced in June.

The Joseph J Hohner Scholarship Committee would like to encourage those who have received the award to give back after graduation and gain employment. Any amount would help keep the fund going for future students. Checks can be made out to Joseph J Hohner Scholarship and mailed to the La Salle County Regional Office of Education, 119 W. Madison St., Room 102, Ottawa, IL 61350.