MRCA Foundation Announces 2024 Scholarship Winners

The MRCA Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association, announced 22 winners of its annual scholarship awards on Monday.

The foundation's purpose is to provide financial assistance to MRCA member company employees and their families who are pursuing higher education at an accredited university or trade school, among other philanthropic endeavors.

The following individuals received scholarships from the MRCA for 2024:

Ali Masoodi — Delta Innovation Services, Kansas City, Kan.
Ashlyn Moore — Roofmasters Roofing & Sheet Metal, Hays, Kan.
Ava Kloehn — Interstate Roofing & Waterproofing, Inc., Onalaska, Wisc.
Camila Perez — F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co., Inc., Milwaukee, Wisc.
Chase Taylor — R. Adams Roofing Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.
Connor Tulley — G.E. Riddiford Co., Arlington Heights, Ill.
Garrett Pesch — Berwald Roofing Co., Inc., St. Paul, Minn.
Genesis Trujillo-Lopez — Academy Roofing & Sheet Metal Co., Des Moines, Iowa
Grace Rucka — Malarkey Roofing Products, Portland, Ore.
Hallie Lemmon — Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc., Wheeling, W.Va.
Isabel Esparza — Korellis Roofing Inc., Hammond, Ind.
Jillian Krivanek — Independent Roofing Co., Inc., Omaha, NE
Jonah Ruder — Roofmasters Roofing & Sheet Metal, Hays, Kan.
Joshua Patterson, Jr. — Schefers Roofing Co., Grain Valley, Mo.
Kylie Horn — McDowall Company, Waite Park, Minn.
Laurelyn Harris — Hausman Metal Works & Roofing Inc., St. Joseph, Mo.
Lily Seibert — Fisher Roofing of Kearney, Kearney, NE
Lindsay Poutre — Roof Tech, Inc., Stillwater, Minn.
Mirabellah Hernandez — Korellis Roofing Inc., Hammond, Ind.
Sydney Baxter — O'Hara's Son Roofing, Chicago, Ill.
Trista Oberle — Roof Tech, Inc., Stillwater, Minn.
Viviana Bahena — Ridgeworth Roofing Co., Inc., Frankfort, Ill.

According to the MRCA, candidates must be undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in a trade school, college, or university or high school seniors provisionally accepted at an educational institution and expressing intent to pursue a degree or certified trade program with at least a 3.0 GPA or B average.

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of academic performance, employment experience, financial need, letters of recommendation, and a demonstrated desire to pursue higher education.

The Gwaltney Family Scholarship

The MRCA Executive Board decided to dedicate a special scholarship in memorial to the Gwaltney family, given the active leadership the family has played throughout the years. Following Kevin Gwaltney’s untimely death last year at age 45, the board “felt that this dedication needed to be memorialized, and that the best way would be to designate each year one of the MRCA Foundation Scholarships in the name of the Gwaltney Family.

“Kevin, Rick, and Mark Gwaltney all stood for education, and they supported elevating the level of professionalism in the roofing industry,” the board said in its news release. “In addition, the Gwaltney Family was always a strong supporter of the Annual MRCA Foundation Auction which raises funds for scholarships.”