The upcoming school year at SC4 will start without financial worries for 10 students from Marine City High School (MCHS) thanks to the Alexander & Celestine Lamere Fund at the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.  

They are part of a cohort of 21 former students from Marine City who are benefitting from the generosity of Alexander and Celestine Lamere, who before they passed away created an endowed scholarship fund in their names. Since the Fund’s creation in 2009 it has provided financial support to dozens of students from Marine City while they attend SC4. 

“The Lamere’s were incredibly smart financial planners,” said Randy Maiers, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, which manages the Lamere Funds.  “They managed and invested their money very well when they were alive and made sure their estate plan would carry on their generosity and passion for students from Marine City after they passed.”

For the 2024/2025 school year, the Foundation has selected 8 new students for Lamere awards, ranging from $1,500 to $7,000. Brooke Dornoff and Autumn Quinn are among the new scholarship recipients. Brooke, a 2024 MCHS graduate, is excited to start her education this fall, where she plans to take prerequisites for the RN program. “I plan to apply to the nursing program in April 2025. My goal is to be a registered nurse by 2026 and then go on to earn my bachelor’s degree in nursing.”

Autumn, a 2022 MCHS alumna, has been part of the Criminal Justice Program at SC4 and will graduate with her associate degree in December. With the Lamere scholarship, Autumn plans to continue taking courses at SC4 that will transfer into Ferris University to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. “The Lamere scholarship is a game changer for me,” Autumn said “I was fully expecting to have to stop at my associate’s degree, but now I am not limited to that. I have the choice to expand my knowledge and capabilities.”

Another 13 students will receive renewal awards from the Foundation as they continue their studies at SC4. Kersten Golan, a 2022 MCHS graduate, has been able to utilize the Lamere scholarship since 2022 to help her progress through her degree. Kersten states, “This year, I will be entering my last year in the nursing program!”

The Lamere Fund has nearly $3 million in total assets and is one of the largest endowed scholarship funds managed by the Community Foundation. The Foundation manages a total scholarship portfolio of more than 40 different funds with assets of almost $13 million.

“Because of the generosity and estate planning by people like the Lamere’s, we are able to follow students throughout their college career with scholarship awards which are renewable,” added Maiers.  “We believe that if we accept a student into our program, we need to be dedicated to supporting their total college success.” 

 If you or your family would like to discuss planning a gift for your hometown or your favorite school, visit our website or contact Jackie Hanton at [email protected] or 810-984-4761.

Visit our giving center at https://stclairfoundation.org/giving-center/.