Scholarship Award

2011 CLA SCHOLARSHIP

By Barbara Videen, Scholarship Committee Chair

The CLA Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce that Nathan Wendorf is the recipient of the 2011 CLA Scholarship. What a wonderful young man. Thanks to those who served on the committee. We did good!!. Barb

Nathan

Left to right, Judy Yorston (CLA President), Nathan Wendorf, and Barbara Videen (CLA Scholarship Committee Chair).

Following is Nathan's Scholarship Essay, written for the Crossings:

Pine City Lakes

by Nathan Wendorf

2011 CLA Scholarship Recipient

I am sitting in the boat hanging out with friends, reeling in that monster bass, sitting waiting for those ducks to fly in, and riding behind the boat in a tube. All these experiences with family and friends have come to me on the great Cross Lake. Cross Lake is one of the lakes where I was first introduced to the great outdoors, and stuck with me ever since. Last summer, I was hired to do lawn maintenance on the river. So all summer, as I would be mowing, I would be watching pontoons go cruising by or bass boats fishing under the docks, I just wanted to get off the mower and ask if I could join them. The lake to me is basically another community in itself, as the summer goes by, you get to know the regulars and meet new people who come to the cabins. Also, the lake has taught me a lesson about life, treat others how you would like to be treated. I recall two times last year when we had problems with our boat and were stuck out there floating, and we thought we were going to have to swim back. We soon had generous people tow us back and help us out, making sure that we made it back to shore. So from then on we made it our job to help out anybody in need.

With all the great times I’ve had on the lake, I want my kids to some day have the same opportunities I have had to enjoy these lakes. If I had the opportunity to better the lake for the future I would keep invasive species out, add buffers to the lakes and rivers, and restore as much to natural habitat as possible.

First off, I would try to keep all the invasive aquatic species out such as water milfoil and curly leaf pond weeds. I would try to get associated with the DNR or establish volunteers on busy day to run access checks on all public accesses. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I see this lowering the transportation of these species. Also, water testing can catch these species at an early stage before they become a nuisance to the lake. Next, adding buffers to surrounding lake and rivers could help reduce weeds. Keeping farmers from spraying their fertilizers in the water sheds can reduce weed growth. This also helps the water to naturally flow to the rivers and lakes rather than growing barriers to decrease flow to the water source. The third and final improvement I would make would be to restore as much of the lake shore to its natural habitat as possible. Returning to its natural habitat will only better the life of the fish and waterfowl along with any other wild life.

I see myself in the future going into education, teaching younger students about the outdoors and keeping it clean for all to use. One thing that I enjoy about the Cross Lake rivers and lakes is it is so easily accessible in so many ways. It is used for all ages ranging from toddlers at the beach to eighty year olds fishing and boating. I hope to see this continued in the future that such a wide variety of people can use the lakes and river.

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SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES:

The CLA Scholarship program is, again, planning to award a $2000 scholarship to one of the youth from our community. It will be awarded in two installments - after the first and third marking periods. The scholarship provides a way to positively link the love of Cross Lake and the Snake River with the future of one of our young people.

Recipients must be graduating from Pine City High School and enrolled at a college or technical school in the science, environment or education fields. Candidates must submit a 500 word essay on "What the Pine City chain of lakes and river means to me and three things I would do to make it better."

The Selection Committee will review grade transcripts and base their selection on the following:
   Has a passion for the environment
   Community service
   Demonstrated leadership skills
   Participation in extra curricular activities
   Demonstrated determination to succeed

The recipient is required to contribute a minimum of 8 hours service in some CLA-related activities, write a 500 word essay to be published in the CROSSINGS at the end of year one, and make a 10 minute presentation to the CLA general membership.

Announcement of the recipient will be made at the Pine City High School Awards Breakfast held in May. The scholarship is funded through a silvent auction held at the CLA Fall Fest Dinner/Dance and by member contributions to the CLA Scholarship Fund.

Contributions to the Scholarship Fund
can also be made at any time by check written to:

Cross Lake Association Scholarship Fund
PO Box 325, Pine City, MN 55063