A life-changing scholarship in the amount of $10,000 was awarded to ten remarkable students from six Muskingum County High Schools. The John & Susan (Rose) Dorr Scholarship, managed by The Muskingum County Community Foundation, is an annual scholarship that provides much-needed financial assistance to students pursuing higher education in the areas of nursing, business, education, or HVAC training.
“John first approached us about, I don’t know, seven years ago,” stated MCCF CEO Brian Wagner. “We started talking about this scholarship, and John and Susan really wanted to make an impact and a difference, and talked about how much support they got when they went off to college. And so being able to build that back into what we’re able to do through this scholarship now, it just continues to grow as his generosity grows.”
John and Susan Dorr were both Muskingum County high school graduates. John graduated from Zanesville High School in 1964, and Susan graduated two years later from Maysville High School. They set up the scholarship fund in 2017 as a way to give back and invest in the community that invested in them throughout the years.
“It was extremely exciting when he brought to me this year that they wanted to increase the scholarship, specifically in Susan’s name, by having lost her this year,” said Trent Pines a representative for the Dorr Scholarship and nephew of John and Susan Dorr. It was a tragic loss. It was not expected. And so he really wanted to make an impact this year. And I believe that we’ll be carrying that forward.”
“He came up with the idea of, let’s increase this and let’s make it big enough that it really impacts the students’ lives. And so he came to me with this $10,000 scholarship per student,” explained Pines. “And so when he decided to expand it to Muskingum County, literally every high school, every public high school had winners. And so, you know, some had dual winners. So it was really exciting to be able to get up on stage and give these things out and watch the reactions of students.”
“I credit Uncle John for seeing this as an opportunity to really impact not only the students, but the parents. Because when you give this kind of money away, it really has an impact on the entire family, right? It relieves some stress that college can put on you financially,” said Pines.
Over 97 applications were submitted this year. To be considered, applicants had to be Muskingum County residents and graduates of a Muskingum County High School with a GPA of at least 2.75. The 2025 recipients had an average GPA of 3.92! They had to be accepted to an Ohio College or University and must be majoring in business, nursing, or education, or be accepted at an Ohio skilled trade school for HVAC.
The scholarships were presented to the recipients at each of their high schools by family members on behalf of John.
2025 Scholarship Recipients:
• Carly A. Bice – Tri-Valley High School | Ohio University | Nursing
• Olivia G. Drabik – West Muskingum High School | Muskingum University
• Seth B. Knott – Zanesville High School | Mount Vernon Nazarene University | Business
• Elijah S. Mayle – Maysville High School | University of Cincinnati | Business
• Grace A. Moore – Tri-Valley High School | Ohio University | Education
• Cali L. Patterson – John Glenn High School | Kent State University | Nursing
• Bailey R. Silver – Maysville High School | Muskingum University | Nursing
• Haylie R. Stemm – Philo High School (Class of 2023) | Otterbein University | Nursing
• Trace J. Wilson – Philo High School | Ohio University | Education
• Kristy Zhang – West Muskingum High School | The Ohio State University | Business &
Education
“For me, it has been a truly amazing experience watching the kids’ faces as they’re holding those checks and then watching the reaction of the kids and the parents afterwards that like, ‘oh my gosh, this is real!’,” said Pines.
“It’s always such a great experience to give it out, especially when I was local and I graduated from West Muskingum and had similar experiences to these students,” explained Kenzie Hill, John and Susan’s great niece. And so to be able to continue to make an impact for them is really positive for me as well. Uncle John’s giving me the chance to build on my legacy while also giving these students the chance to build on their own. And so it’s great to see their excitement for something and their gratitude because they recognize the impact that this is going to have on their lives moving into the future.”
To learn more about the John & Susan (Rose) Dorr Scholarship and others managed by The Muskingum County Community Foundation, please visit mccf.org.