First Bank & Trust is passionate about education, for both its employees and its customers. The bank aims to empower future leaders by providing financial assistance through the First Bank & Trust Community Scholarship program. We are pleased to announce that the following individuals have been selected as 2025 Community Scholarship winners, each receiving a $1,000 scholarship for college tuition expenses:

• Ernest Ting (Brookings, SD) – California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for Information and Data Science
• Garet Wicks (Brookings, SD) – South Dakota State University for Animal Science
• Claire Michaels (Cambridge, MN) – University of Minnesota Duluth
• Biruk Van De Stroet (Canton, SD) – Iowa State University for Finance
• Riley Rasmussen (Canton, SD) – South Dakota State University for Agricultural Science
• Abbigale Paulson (East Bethel, MN) – Illinois Wesleyan University for Biochemistry
• Cortney Rogich (Garretson, SD) – University of Nebraska Omaha for Pre-medical Imaging
• Arien Stalford (Madison, SD) – Dakota State University for Cyber Operations
• Gemma Street (Milbank, SD) – Clemson University for Health Sciences
• Graham Lighfield (Milbank, SD) – University of Chicago for Economics
• Veronica Fonder (Milbank, SD) – North Dakota State University for Nursing
• Jacob Bisek (New Prague, MN) – University of Wisconsin for Political Science and Mathematics
• Kaitlyn Goelz (Pipestone, MN) – University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Kyra Deters (Princeton, MN) – University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Noah Miller (Roseville, MN) – St. John's University for Exercise Health Science
• Seth Gerhardt (Sioux Falls, SD) – University of South Dakota for Political Science
• Payge Rerick (Sioux Falls, SD) – South Dakota State University for Biology
• Mary Kolbeck (Sioux Falls, SD) – South Dakota State University for Accounting
• Ella Vansloten (Toronto/White, SD) – South Dakota State University for Biology
• Joel Dahlhoff (Vermillion, SD) – Lake Area Technical College for Aviation Maintenance Technology
• Greyson Leins (Watertown, SD) – Bethany Lutheran College for Media Arts
  
  

“Each of this year’s scholarship recipients has shown remarkable dedication both in the classroom and through their extracurricular pursuits,” said Kevin Tetzlaff, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Bank & Trust. “We’re proud to support these outstanding individuals as they continue to grow and achieve.”

The recipients will start or continue their postsecondary education at the above-mentioned institutions in the fall. Congratulations to all and best of luck!

First Bank & Trust

Kevin Tetzlaff

President and Chief Executive Officer

605.696.2046