Baker College, Michigan’s largest, private nonprofit college and the top private transfer school in the state, has awarded two of its current students the George W. Hoddy Scholarship. Emily Rzepecki, a sophomore business administration major from Byron, Mich. and Jeffrey Ellenstein, a senior accounting major from Farmington Hills, Mich., are the 2019 Hoddy Scholarship recipients. The students each will receive $1,500 per academic year.
To be eligible for the George W. Hoddy Scholarship, Baker students must be enrolled in one of Baker’s business programs and have maintained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5, in addition to exhibiting strong leadership skills.
Emily and Jeffrey far exceed these requirements, according to Michael Konopacke, director of student affairs at Baker College. “Baker College could not be more proud of Emily and Jeffrey as they are at the top of their class academically, and will no doubt be successful in their chosen career upon graduation,” Konopacke said.
Hoddy was a long-time Owosso resident and successful and well-known industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist who passed away in 2010. The George W. Hoddy Scholarship was created with his generosity to help support hard-working and successful students enrolled at Baker College.
Hoddy also made other donations to Baker College over the years, including several residential properties that comprise the “Hoddy Block,” in Owosso, which sold at auction in 2018. Baker announced that 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the Hoddy Block properties will support the George W. Hoddy Scholarship fund.
“This will allow Baker College students to benefit from Mr. Hoddy’s generosity for years to come,” said Konopacke.
For more information on Baker College’s business program options, head to their Program Page.