The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW) recently awarded $500 scholarships to four high school senior girls. The High School Leadership Scholarship Awards went to Katie Lynn Bruntjen, Danielle Joann Krabbe, Michelle Meloche and Claire Murphy Watson.

Chosen from a field of 64 applicants, these girls were selected by a committee of six persons on the basis of the principles of the DCCW: faith, spirituality, academic achievement, and service to their parish, school and community. Alma Frohock of Bunker Hill and a member of St. Joseph Parish in Benld, served as the chairperson of the DCCW scholarship committee.

Katie Lynn Bruntjen

The daughter of Kirby and Rita Bruntjen of Harvel, Katie Lynn Bruntjen attended Lincolnwood High School and graduated seventh in a class of 52 students. She had a grade point average that exceeded 5.0.

Katie has several part-time jobs. She works for the Hillsboro Journal-News as a columnist, reporting news about Lincolnwood High School events and activities in her weekly column “Lancer Lines.” On Sundays, she assists Brenda Ouellette, who is a quadriplegic, with paying bills and organizing correspondence, along with other duties. She also provides babysitting services for two young children.

At St. Raymond Catholic Church in Raymond, Katie has been an altar server and sang in the youth choir. She is active in CYO, volunteering at Panhandle Food Pantry and St. John’s Breadline in Springfield, and participating in several food drives. She has attended the National Catholic Youth Conference.

Katie has held many official positions at Lincolnwood High. As a member of FFA, she was elected vice president of the National FFA and served as secretary in 2009-2010. She was an officer of her local chapter for the last two years.

She has also been vice president of Student Council, vice president of her class, president of the Spanish Club, vice president and reporter for the Raymond Buckeyes 4-H Club, and vice president of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). She was a member of the yearbook staff and served on the Montgomery County 4-H Youth Council. She led the varsity cheerleading squad as captain for two years and played on the Lincolnwood softball team throughout her high school career.

Katie’s honors include acting as president of the local chapter of the National Honor Society, Outstanding FFA Greenhand Award, All-American Cheerleader Award, 4-H “I Dare You” Award, Raymond Buckeyes 4-H Member of the Month and winner of the Pheasants Forever Photography Contest.

Katie plans to attend the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana to major in speech-language pathology and minor in Spanish. After graduation, she hopes to become a bilingual speech pathologist and work in an Illinois hospital.

Danielle Joann Krabbe

Danielle Joann Krabbe ranked first in a graduating class of 86 students at Litchfield High School. She is the daughter of Roger and Dana Krabbe of Litchfield.

In her DCCW application essay Danielle stated that she has adopted as her mission “to help spread the word of Jesus.”  At Holy Family Church in Litchfield, she is highly involved in her youth group, which takes part in a number of volunteer projects and sponsors Saturday evening youth Masses. In her younger years she served at Mass and then became an aide for PSR classes when she was older.

Danielle has participated in two mission trips to Kentucky that were sponsored by the Christian Appalachian Project. “I am grateful for the opportunity to help the less fortunate and not only did we make an impact on the families we helped, but they also changed my perspective on life and made me grow closer to God,” she said.

At Litchfield High School Danielle was involved in student government, serving as a treasurer her freshman year and as president of her class during her sophomore, junior and senior years.

Danielle played volleyball and softball and was chosen as captain of the volleyball team. She led her school dance team as captain and performed with the Drama Club. She was also a member of the Student Advisory Board and served as secretary of the Spanish Club. She was active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and SADD.

Elected to the National Honor Society, Danielle took advanced high school classes and maintained a 5.289 GPA on a 5.0 scale.

“I praise God every night and ask him to help me live to my full potential,” she said.

“I am grateful for the gifts God has blessed me with and I try to take my talents and use them to make positive impacts on peoples’ lives.”

Michelle Meloche

The daughter of Douglas and Sharon Meloche of Troy, Michelle Meloche ranked first in her graduating class of 281 students at Triad High School in Troy.

An active member of St. Jerome Parish in Troy, Michelle is an extraordinary minister of holy Communion and lector, and a leader for Youth Group, Disciple Group, the annual Luke 18 retreat, Bible study, Totus Tuus, and the preschool crew for Vacation Bible School. She is a vocalist for the Youth Praise Band, and a member of Catholic Leadership Institute. At school, she was a member of the Christian Club and “See You at the Pole” prayer group.

At Triad High School, Michelle participated in music, both as a vocalist and instrumentalist. She played trumpet in the Honors Concert Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band and Marching Band. She was a member of Madjazz Show Choir, Honors Chamber Choir, and All-State Choir. She has mentored younger choir students and has tutored in biology, chemistry, English, reading and music theory.

Michelle was elected to National Honor Society, receiving the Illinois State Math Award, a Youth Salute Award, the Prairie State Achievement Award in math, reading and science and an Award of Excellence in chemistry and English. She was the wildlife specialist on the Environthon team, which finished in second place at the Illinois Environthon competition in May.

Additionally, she has been active in Girl Scouts and helps with organizations that provide assistance to the needy. She helped to raise over $1,000 as a member of her Relay for Life team and worked on other fundraisers for the homeless.   

Michelle plans to pursue a career in medicine.

Claire Murphy Watson

Claire Murphy Watson, the daughter of James and Anne Watson of Riverton, ranked as the top student of her Riverton High School graduating class of 111 members. She is also an active member of St. James Parish in Riverton, where she serves as cantor, musician, lector and music librarian. Additionally, she assists her mother, who is director of the youth and teen choirs.

In her youth group, Claire participated in a variety of volunteer projects, such as helping at Brother James Court, Helping Hands Shelter, St. John’s Breadline and Habitat for Humanity. She assisted at Sunday School and served as a teacher’s aide for second-grade religion classes. She attended Catholic HEART Workcamp, where she worked as a rehab laborer. She says her favorite volunteer activity is Mission Outreach, “where we separate, count and box donated medical supplies to be sent to less fortunate hospitals around the world.”

Claire is the recipient of multiple academic awards, among them the DAR Award and Student of the Month Awards at various times. She was named an Illinois State Scholar and served as an officer for National Honor Society. She was a finalist in the WUIS

“This I Believe” essay contest and was involved in student government at her high school. She was vice president of the Teens Against Drugs and Alcohol Abuse program.

Claire was also involved in sports and music programs at Riverton High School. She played volleyball and basketball all four years and served as the captain of the volleyball team during her senior year. She was selected to the Sangamon County All-Tournament Volleyball Team in both her junior and senior years.

She participated in numerous musicals, plays and choirs and was selected captain of the Dance Team. She was named an All-American Dancer by the Universal Dance Association during her senior year. She was selected to the District IV All District Choir by the Illinois Music Education Association her sophomore, junior and senior years and to the All State Honors Choir this year. She was also a member of the Chamber Choir and Jazz Choir and participated in the school madrigals all four years. 

All four girls will be honored and presented with their award at the DCCW annual convention luncheon on Sept. 28 at Effingham. Their parents are also invited to attend.