The Sons Of Norway Are Looking For Scholarship Applicants

The Sons of Norway’s Vegas Viking Lodge is seeking applicants for its 8th annual scholarship for post-high school studies. The postmark deadline is April 19, 2014. To be eligible, an applicant must be of Norwegian descent; a legal resident of Clark County or Alamo, Nevada, or a member of the Vegas Viking Lodge or a child or grandchild of a member of the lodge; at least a high school senior; and an ongoing full-time student. The scholarship value is at least $500. Last year, the lodge gave away six $500 scholarships, and it has given away more than $20,000 in scholarships.

Applications are available online at www.vegasviking.com/scholarship.html. Winners are chosen based on grades, financial need, involvement in extracurricular activities, and the content and quality of their essays, including how they express appreciation for their Norwegian heritage. The number of scholarships depends on funds available from various lodge fund-raising activities plus private donations. Last year six outstanding Clark County high school graduates with Norwegian ancestry were awarded $500 scholarships, including Kyle Amundson, a Palo Verde High School graduate, now enrolled at the University of San Diego; Jessica Reed, a Spring Valley High School graduate, now at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa; Michael Kelso, a Boulder City High School graduate, now at the Colorado School of Mines; Michael Mortenson, a Palo Verde High School graduate, now at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah; Ricardo Sevilla of Henderson, a Green Valley High School graduate, now at the University of Nevado, Reno; and Amanda Stenberg of Mesquite, a Virgin Valley High School graduate, now at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Tax-deductible contributions to the scholarship fund—including naming gifts—are welcome. If preferred, a donor’s name can be kept confidential. To donate, a check payable to the Vegas Viking Sons of Norway Scholarship Fund should be mailed to Treasurer Warren Halvorsen, 830 Kingston Springs Way, Las Vegas, NV 89123-3643. For more information, call Suzan Sibert, (702) 645-6666, co-chair of the scholarship committee.

The Vegas Viking lodge  www.vegasviking.com  was organized in May 1992 and has been involved in a wide variety of special events featuring traditional and contemporary programs having a Norwegian-American flavor ever since. As part of the Sons of Norway, it is a fraternal benefit and cultural society dedicated to preserving Norwegian and Scandinavian heritage in North America and strengthening the ties between North America and modern Norway. Vegas Viking also helps local charities through donations.