The Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation has consistently focused on supporting the needs of the dental community. By dental community, we mean not only practicing dentists, but also retired professionals and students who are studying to ensure that quality dental care will be available for future generations.
A significant part of that focus has been to provide financial assistance to dental students as they study to enter the profession. This year, resident Wisconsin students were provided with the opportunity to compete for a total of $30,000 in scholarships. The scholarships include five Tuition Scholarship Awards valued at $5,000 each and one Alliance Scholarship Award valued at $2,500. Dental hygiene scholarships continued at five Wisconsin technical colleges with one $500 scholarship available at each school.
To be considered for the WDA Foundation Tuition Scholarship Award, a student must be a Wisconsin resident in his/her third year of study at Marquette University School of Dentistry, who ranks within the top 20 Wisconsin residents in the class. The WDA Foundation congratulates the 2022 Tuition Scholarship Award recipients:
- Megan LeGros, Muskego, Wis.
- Drake Lindholm, Sun Prairie, Wis.
- Margaret Miller, DePere, Wis.
- Ciara Schwarz, DeForest, Wis.
- Rachel Thornton, Middleton, Wis.
The WDA Foundation/Alliance Award is presented to a married Wisconsin resident who is in his or her second or third year of dental studies at Marquette. A portion of the funding for this award comes from the reserve originally donated by the now-disbanded WDA Alliance of dental spouses. In 2022, the award went to:
- Tristan Rostagno (D-2), Brookfield, Wis.
The WDA Foundation also awards $500 scholarships to support Wisconsin students who are studying dental hygiene. Recipients must be Wisconsin residents who have excelled academically and are in need of financial assistance. Awards are presented to students from the following colleges:
- Chippewa Valley Technical College
- Fox Valley Technical College
- Milwaukee Area Technical College
- Northcentral Technical College
- Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Since 2000, the WDA Foundation has awarded $320,000 in scholarships to dental and dental hygiene students. Donations from many people and organizations have helped the foundation provide financial support for statewide charitable dental care, oral hygiene outreach and education efforts for 65 years.
