Davenport North’s Olivia Heller Wins Dooley Scholarship
Olivia Heller has been awarded the 2023 Dr. Thomas Anthony Dooley Memorial Scholarship. Olivia is the first Davenport North student to win the award in its 58-year history.
Olivia was presented the award at a surprise ceremony at 12:30 p.m. today at Davenport North. She had tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face as she discovered she had won, surrounded by her supportive parents and grandparents.
“I’ve been waiting for this to come out, I got so excited, then emotional,” she said. “It means a lot. I’ve worked a lot to show how passionate I am about the medical field. I’m so excited I get to go out there and do all this great stuff and be able to do the most I can.”
The award is in the amount of $20,000 payable at the rate of up to $5,000 per year over a four-year period of undergraduate schoolwork. It can be used at any accredited college or university.
The scholarship, awarded annually by the Davenport Community School District Scholarship Selection Committee and the Quad Cities Community Foundation, was started in 1965 by the late Dr. Walter Neiswanger, who named it after Dr. Thomas Dooley, a physician who ran medical clinics in the mountains of Vietnam and Laos.
Heller will be attending University of Iowa in the fall and will be going into the pre-medical program.
“I’m going to University of Iowa because my whole family has gone there, and it’s got such an outstanding medical program, and I’m excited to be there,” Olivia said. “I just want to say (to my parents and family), thank you so much for supporting me and believing in me and helping to get where I am and offering me all the opportunities I could ask for, and pushing me even when I wasn’t sure I could do it.”
Olivia’s father, Guy Heller, a University of Iowa alum wearing a Hawkeye sweater at the event, was proud and pleased at his daughter’s accomplishment.
“Olivia amazes us every day; she’s smart, driven, cares about everything and everybody, does everything she can to make the world a better place,” Guy said “This opportunity is going to allow her to do a lot of things many of us can’t, and make the world a better place.
“We’re excited she’s going to University of Iowa, her sister is up there so she’s got someone to watch out for her up there,” he added. “We’re just so proud of her. She’s beyond amazing, I don’t have the words to really describe what she means to us.”
Guy was also quick to give credit to the schools and teachers at Davenport Community School District for Olivia’s educational path.
“We just want to say thanks to everyone, all the teachers at Harrison, Wood, and North, who helped get her to this point,” Guy said. “Her Mom and I have done a lot, but really a lot of credit goes to the educators who got her to this point and helped her achieve everything she has.”
In addition to class rank, and consideration of ACT scores and Advanced Placement classes, each applicant is interviewed by a panel to determine the winner.
The 2023 Scholarship Selection Committee consisted of Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President of External Relations at Augustana College, Julie Buechel, Davenport Central High School Counselor, Jay Chelf, Davenport North High School Principal, Brian Ehlinger, Davenport Central High School Principal, Dr. Cindy Lewis, Davenport Schools Interim Director of Learning and Results, Katie Licht, Davenport North High School Counselor, Amy Murphy, Davenport West High School Counselor, Dr. Cheryl True, Scott County MD, and Cory Williams, Davenport West High School Principal.
