47 New Ulm area students receive scholarships through donor generosity to Allina Health Foundation

NEW ULM, Minn. (Aug. 19, 2025) — Allina Health New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC) awarded its largest dollar amount in scholarships for future health care workers. Thanks to the generosity of donors to the Allina Health Foundation, New Ulm Medical Center granted a total of $235,000 in scholarships to 47 college students pursuing degrees in nursing and other health care-related fields.

“This large amount of giving has such a significant impact for investment in health care education, and it is so rare for a community our size,” said Carisa Buegler, director of operations at NUMC.

The students each received between $2,500 and $7,000 toward their education. These scholarships are an investment in expanding the health care workforce in Brown County and the New Ulm area, with hope that the students will remain in the community after graduation, regardless of where they choose to work.

Scholarship donors who make this possible are the late Charlotte West Anderson, Dr. Marc & Lori Burkhart, Carol Ryberg, and Kay Witt. The names of the scholarships and recipients are below.

Charlotte West Anderson Scholarship Recipients - $5,000 per scholarship

Renewal Scholarships:

1.         Jaelyn Batzlaff (Cardiovascular Sonography)

2.         Madyson Digmann (Nursing)

3.         Melissa Dreckman (Healthcare Management)

4.         Jenna Ebert (Nursing)

5.         Annie Edwards (Nursing)

6.         Adasyn Fairbairn (Nursing)

7.         Julia Helget (Speech Communication Sciences and Disorders)

8.         Alexis Henningson (Nursing)

9.         Kya Krzmarzick (Speech-Language Pathologist)

10.       McKenzie Lauwagie (Biomedical Sciences)

11.       Halle Meier (Nursing)

12.       Morgan Ranweiler (Nursing)

13.       Jalivia Richert (Diagnostic Medical Sonography)

14.       Kyle Strate (Medical School)

15.       Kaitlyn Vogel (Osteopathic Medicine)

16.       Joshua Wenninger (Exercise Science)

17.       Mogen Winkelmann (Nursing)

New Scholarships:

1.         Colin Anderson (Nursing)

2.         Justin Bruns (Nurse Practitioner)

3.         Olivia Christensen (Nursing)

4.         Colton Cullum (Physical Therapy)

5.         Kristina Correa (Healthcare Administration)

6.         Emma Gieseke (Occupational Therapy)

7.         Kayla Goblirsch (Applied Health Science)

8.         Amy Harris (Doctor of Medicine)

9.         Kiah Helget (Exercise Physiology/Physical Therapy)

10.       Kaylyn Hellendrung (Nursing)

11.       Alex Hillesheim (Doctor of Chiropractic)

12.       Ellie Hohensee (Nurse Practitioner)

13.       Isaac Lendt (Medical Microbiology)

14.       Ethan Lieb (Exercise Science)

15.       Grace Mages (Healthcare Administration)

16.       Elizabeth Nachreiner (Clinical Mental Health Counseling)

17.       Emily Pearson (Rehabilitation and Movement Science)

18.       Kelleigh Peterson (Nursing)

19.       Madilyn Portner (Exercise Science/Physical Therapy)

20.       Carly Redman (Medical Assistant)

21.       Adeline Ringhofer (Biological Sciences)

22.       Morgan Schabert (Nurse Practitioner)

23.       Matthew Schommer (Kinesiology)

24.       Malia Wagner (Spanish Studies/Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences)

25.       Phoebe Wiken-Drescher (Nursing)

26.       Jocelyn Wills (Physician Assistant)

Dr. Marc and Lori Burkhart Scholarship Recipient - $5,000

1. Samuel Stresemann (Medical School)

Carol Ryberg Scholarships

Carol L. Ryberg Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant (NP/PA) Scholarship - $7,500

1. Rebecca Schwarz (Nurse Practitioner)

Carol L. Ryberg Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Scholarship - $5,000

1. Bryn Nesvold (Nursing)

Kay Witt Scholarship - $2,500

1. Emma Brudelie (Nursing)