One of the recipients of our 2021 McKenna's Rae of Hope Foundation Character Scholarship of $1000 is Elizabeth Bean of Kearney, Nebraska. Elizabeth plans on attending the UNO where she will study business administration. Elizabeth was nominated by Leah Greeno and endorsed by Barb Wegner, two of Lizzy's softball coaches. Congratulations to Elizabeth from all of us at McKenna's Rae of Hope Foundation. Thank you for being a Rae of Hope for those around you.
Here is what Leah Said about Elizabeth:
Lizzy Bean… where do I begin? I have known this young lady since she was a little girl. She grew up at the ballpark alongside my kids. She was there watching her dad play in softball tournaments weekend after weekend. Her dad was an outstanding ballplayer. I had the privilege of umpiring his games. Lizzy was always the sweetest little girl; so kind to other kids that were growing up at the ballpark as well.
Lizzy was often at the YMCA watching indoor softball, where she interacted and played with my own children as well as others on a weekly basis. Lizzy also attended Park Elementary with my kids. I had the opportunity to watch her grow and excel in the classroom as well. She was the nicest little girl to everyone around her. She was good to include her classmates, making sure no one ever felt left out. Lizzy is very caring and has a huge heart for everyone around her. I have watched her grow into a nice, sweet, kind, friendly, smiling, happy, and beautiful young lady. Her parents did a tremendous job raising her.
Lizzy’s father taught her to be a great ballplayer by coaching her summer competitive softball team for years. She was respectful to others, a team player, responsible, confident, and most of all, always got along with her teammates. She knew there was no “I” in TEAM. Later in her life, as she entered high school, I had the opportunity to coach Lizzy myself on the Junior Varsity (JV) team at Kearney High School. What a joy she was to have on my team, both on and off the field. I enjoyed every minute with her! NEVER one problem with this young lady.
Lizzy is a positive leader: always encouraging others, flexible, and always supportive of her coaches and teammates, doing whatever she was told. When the lineup would change, game by game, she didn’t mind if she was down playing on JV, or up playing with varsity. She was easy going with whatever field she got to play on; she was just happy to be on the field. The role she played could have been a difficult one with all the back and forth between JV and varsity games, but she never showed any negativity or complained, as she saw other teammates do. She kept a positive attitude and showed great team leadership skills to the younger JV players.
The following year I moved up to coach varsity with Barb Wegner and got to coach Lizzy during her junior and senior years. What an amazing, thoughtful, responsible, respectful, team player she was. I loved watching Lizzy grow into a beautiful, loving young lady on the inside and out. I will miss her dearly on the varsity field next year.
Barb, her endorser, stated:
Always smiling. That’s what I think of when I hear Lizzy’s name! It is an honor to endorse Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bean for the McKenna’s Rae of Hope Character Scholarship. It doesn’t matter what mood Lizzy is in, she always has a smile on her face and lights up a room.
I’ve had the honor to coach Lizzy in softball for Kearney High the last two years. She’s fierce on the field, and regardless of what position I needed her to play, she was happy to do it. She is a tremendous leader to her peers because of her positivity. Her spirit is contagious to others around her. Beyond that, she’s an advocate for others. When I first took over the softball program, Lizzy came to me with a selfless request: to unite both the junior varsity and varsity programs. She wanted to become a family. She said when she started high school, there were team suppers and activities for varsity-only players. Lizzy wanted reform; she wanted everyone to be involved in the fun! I adhered to her advice, and it was probably one of the neatest things we did. The girls bonded to become sisters. We had team suppers once a week, pumpkin decorating, silly games, and gave the girls special time to just talk and get to know each other. Lizzy also helped create a “secret sister” where the varsity girls “adopted” a JV girl and gave them small gifts and motivational notes. These ideas were all Lizzy’s endeavors to bring our girls together, and she nailed it!
Lizzy Bean is not just a phenomenal leader on the ball field, but in the classroom as well. She has consistently earned high grades in her classes, earning a 3.47 GPA. She’s not afraid to advocate for herself if she’s unsure of what’s going on. She’s a bit of a perfectionist in that manner, always wanting to do the right thing. She cares deeply about her grades because she is thirsty for knowledge. I see this carry over into all that she does. Lizzy has had many successes at school and beyond because of her intrinsic will to never settle for less than the best. She would be a prime candidate for investing in her future with this scholarship! She offers so many wonderful attributes to this world!
Lizzy is one-in-a-million! I have taught and coached for 22 years. In my teaching tenure, “Lizzy B” stands out as one of my most favorite I’ve coached because of her willingness to learn, and do what’s right for all involved. She’s selfless, yet can advocate for herself. She has the grit to get through the most difficult of situations. Lizzy has an uplifting spirit that’s contagious to all that is around her because she cares deeply for people. Her unique character shines! She will go far in life and has set a tremendous example for younger children to follow. Please give Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bean your highest consideration for this scholarship.