The Friends of the Brainerd Public Library awarded four Brainerd HIgh School seniors as receipients of this year's Ruth Gogolin Scholarship. Gabriella Bratney, Cassidy Otto, Leah Soukup and Rebekah Soukup will each earn scholarships of $2,500 to further support their education.
In their scholarship application, students responded to a prompt asking which book they would add to their school's required reading list and why, explaining the themes, lessons, and significance of the book.
The Ruth Gogolin Scholarship is administrated by the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library and is open to seniors from Brainerd and Pillager high schools who have a current Brainerd library card.
2026 Scholorship Winners
Current Winners
2026 Karen Johnson, FOBPL President; April Ristau, librarian; Cassidy Otto; Peg Mann, Scholorship FOBPL board.
2026: Peg Mann, Scholorship FOBPL Board; Rebekah Soukup, Gabriella Bratney, Leah Soukup; Karen Johnson, FOBPL President
Past Winners:
2025
Stella Marohn, Kristy Moore, Chelsea Williams, and Hailey Decent
2024
Claire Dano and Ashton Extrand
(Not pictured: Kayli Dorn)
Jenna Jensen, Tori Edinger, and Ellie Brown (2023)
Caroline Gadacz and Lucan Krutchen (2022)
