The Fox Valley Technical College Foundation is celebrating another season of impact—one that is making a meaningful difference for hundreds of students who recently started their spring 2026 semester.
Following the Fall 2025 application cycle, the FVTC Foundation awarded $378,195 in scholarship support to 460 students, selected from nearly 930 applicants.
For many recipients, an FVTC scholarship is not just financial assistance; it is also a lifeline during some of life’s most challenging moments.
Support when it matters most
Life threw everything it had at FVTC Business Management student Thomas Micke during his spring 2025 semester. While juggling 16 credits and two jobs, he was at the hospital for his father’s major surgery when his mother was suddenly admitted to the ER just floors away. In an instant, Thomas found himself navigating two family medical emergencies during an incredibly stressful week.
“I was sleep-deprived and overwhelmed,” Thomas recalls. Amid this profound uncertainty, a different kind of message arrived: an award letter from the FVTC Foundation informing him he had been selected for the Al Zierler Memorial Scholarship.
“Receiving this scholarship brought a sense of relief and reassurance,” he says. “It provided financial stability when I needed it most, enabling me to be present for my loved ones and continue my education with some peace of mind.”
This support was more than just financial; it was a connection to a legacy of resilience. The scholarship honors Al Zierler, a first-generation college student who graduated from FVTC in the 1970s. To afford his education, Zierler worked the night shift at a cheese factory, often sleeping in his car on campus for a few hours before class. Those hard times were never forgotten as Zierler worked his way through a career in accounting to eventually become the President and CEO of Capital Credit Union.
Zierler’s career came full circle when he was named FVTC’s 2011 Alumni of the Year and the 2013 Winter Commencement Speaker. To honor the footing FVTC gave him, The Al Zierler Memorial Scholarship, a fund through the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, was established by his family to support the next generation of FVTC business students. “If a scholarship in his name can ease a student’s financial burden, he would be thrilled,” his wife Judy shares.
In Thomas, Zierler’s legacy finds a powerful echo. A military veteran and entrepreneur, Thomas lives by a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
The Al Zierler Memorial Scholarship gave Thomas the breathing room to do just that — to walk, and sometimes crawl, through one of the most difficult periods of his life without having to abandon his goals. That forward momentum carried him through a difficult spring, and he will graduate next fall. It is a testament to how one generation’s hard-won success can empower the next to keep moving forward, no matter what the obstacle.
Support for high flying career goals
“I’ve always been fascinated with airplanes, and attending the airshows at (EAA AirVenture Oshkosh) every summer really sparked my love for aviation. Ever since my first discovery flight, I knew that being in the air and flying any type of aircraft was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
With this vision, Lauren Stettbacher took bold steps as a teenager to launch into private pilot training. She is well on her way to becoming a professional pilot. Lauren is pairing her learning with a full-time schedule at Fox Valley Technical College in the Aviation Management associate degree program and a part-time job at the Fond du Lac County Airport.
It’s a dream that comes at a high cost. Lauren’s tuition bill for her first semester was four times what she was offered in financial aid.
Receiving the Sean Paul Gonia Aviation Scholarship from the FVTC Foundation brought her well-deserved relief and encouragement to keep going.
Laur Gonia knows well the financial commitment it takes to receive an education in aviation. His son Sean worked hard to apply for and receive many scholarships as he pursued his pilot training at Saint Cloud State University in the 1990s. His untimely death on Sept. 11, 2004, accelerated a plan Laur and Sylvia Gonia had made to establish a scholarship in his name.
While not alumni of FVTC, the connection is a strong one. When Saint Cloud State ended its aviation program, the Gonias transferred the scholarship in Sean’s name to FVTC for the reputation of its Aviation program, professionalism of the FVTC Foundation as well as Sean’s ties to the Oshkosh area through EAA AirVenture and Explorers.
Lauren expects to graduate from FVTC in May. Meanwhile, she has achieved several milestones on her path to earning a pilot’s license and is a proud volunteer pilot for the EAA Young Eagles program. She has taken 17 young people on their first flights so far.
“Receiving this scholarship has made a huge difference for me. It helped ease some of the financial burden, but more importantly, it encouraged me to know that others believe in my potential and want to support my education.”
Together, Thomas and Lauren’s stories illustrate the lasting impact of FVTC Foundation scholarships. They not only help students afford college, but also by giving them stability, encouragement and opportunity to build futures they believe in.
To learn more about how you can support student scholarships, visit the FVTC Foundation.
