HELENA – Carroll College recently awarded $165,000 in scholarships to 15 students through the Elsie P. Corette Memorial Scholarship as well as the Roy F. Simperman Math, Science, and Nursing Scholarships.
Five students from Montana, who intend to pursue medical school upon graduation, were recipients of the 2021-2022 Elsie P. Corette Memorial Scholarship established at Carroll College. The Corette Scholarship is available to Carroll pre-med majors from Montana through the generosity of 1962 Carroll graduate Roy Simperman of Mercer Island, Washington. Simperman is the chairman and chief executive officer of Semaphore Corporation in Seattle. Awards are based on financial need and promise of success in medical school. Since 1973, approximately 198 Corette Scholarships have been conferred, totaling nearly $1,274,000, with a large majority of recipients going on to become medical doctors.
2021-2022 Corette Scholarship recipients are:
- Whitney Durocher, sophomore, biology major, Choteau
- Hailey James, junior, biology major, Helena
- Taylor Leistiko, junior, biology major, Missoula
- Peyton Lipp, sophomore, biology major, Billings
- Anna Romero, junior, health science major, Helena
Carroll College also named four nursing students as the recipients of the 2021-2022 Roy F. Simperman Nursing Scholarship, established by Mr. Roy Simperman also. In addition, six math and science majors have been awarded the Simperman Math and Science Scholarship.
The Roy F. Simperman Math, Science and Nursing Scholarships provide immediate funds to Montana students needing financial assistance who are majoring in math, nursing or science with a minimum 3.5 grade point average. The scholarships are awarded to equalize the cost of attending Carroll College relative to Montana public colleges and universities. In the twelve years that the Simperman Math, Science and Nursing Scholarships have existed at Carroll, $1,076,500 has been provided to 93 students.
2021-2022 Simperman Math, Science, and Nursing Scholarship recipients are:
- Angela Aune, junior, nursing major, Helena
- Ashley Braaksma, junior, nursing major, Manhatten
- Logan Christensen, junior, chemistry major, Libby
- Benjamin Held, sophomore, biology major, Great Falls
- James Normandeau, sophomore, biochemistry major, Ronan
- Katelyn McKay, sophomore, nursing major, Helena
- Abraham Montalvo, freshman, math major, Terry
- Kenna Thomas, freshman, math major, Belgrade
- Linsay Walker, sophomore, nursing major, Libby
- Luke Wilson, junior, biology major, Missoula
Over the years, the Simperman Math, Science, and Nursing Scholarships and the Corette Scholarships have provided over $2,350,500 in aid to deserving students. This year’s average award was over $11,100.
About the Elsie Corette Memorial Scholarship
The Elsie Corette Memorial Scholarship was created at Carroll College through the generosity of Mr. John E. Corette of Butte, Montana, and by his children, in memory of his wife and their mother. Elsie Corette was born in 1907 to Peter and Mary Pauly of Deer Lodge. Peter was a co-founder of the Williams and Pauly ranch, which by the early 1950s stretched from east of Drummond to near the top of McDonald Pass.
In late September of 1930, Elsie went to Missoula to be a teaching instructor in the University of Montana History Department and continue work on her master’s degree in English. Two years later, she married a lawyer, Jack Corette. They moved to Butte, where Jack served as chairman and chief executive officer of Montana Power Company. Mr. Corette also served on the Carroll College board of trustees. In 1971, Elsie died, and Jack proposed the idea of a scholarship trust account at Carroll College for pre-med students who might practice in Montana.
Since Mr. Corette’s death in 1994, this scholarship fund has been generously supported by Roy F. Simperman of Mercer Island, Washington, a graduate of Carroll’s class of 1962, in memory of Mr. Simperman’s deceased wife, Diane, who was the daughter of Jack and Elsie Corette. Diane Simperman served on the Corette Scholarship Committee for many years. Mr. Simperman is the chairman and chief executive officer of Semaphore Corporation.
Carroll College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts, and pre-professional college in Montana's capital city of Helena. Carroll College has earned top national and regional awards for its academic programs, professors, and extraordinary tuition value. For ten years in a row, Carroll has been ranked as the number one regional college in the West by U.S. News & World Report. www.carroll.edu.