Scholarships
Far West Scholarships
Applications for the Marce Herz Foundation Far West Ski Racing Season are closed for now. Check back August 2025!
The Marce Herz Foundation is pleased to offer two ski racing scholarships. There will be two (2) scholarships for Far West athletes (one to a female and to a male athlete) at $1,000 each, awarded for the 25/26 race season by the Marce Herz Foundation. Instructions on how to submit applications will be posted late summer of 2025. Scholarship recipients will be showcased on the Marce Herz website.
Far West Scholarships
Congrats to our 2024 Far West Scholarship winners!
Emma Jennings
Emma is a second year U16 athlete with the Northstar race team. Emma says that ski racing is her passion. She loves to push her limits on the ski hill and go FAST! To combine skiing with academics, Emma tries to work ahead on her school work so she has time to make school work a priority and give herself dedicated time at races. Emma has set many goals for her second U16 season including to be top 20 at regionals and hopefully get to nationals for the first time, but more importantly, to work on her mindset with her coach and learn to use the adversity that can come with ski racing to learn, grow and keep having fun. Emma is proud to have achieved two hard charger awards where she moved up the most positions from a low start position.
Emma’s coach said her competitive drive is matched by a strong work ethic, evident in her continuous pursuit of excellence. Emma’s teacher mentioned that a school slogan at the school is that ‘we can do hard things,’ and Emma embodies this to the core. The Marce Herz Foundation is proud to sponsor Emma and wish her the best for her 24/24 race season.
Maxwell cooper
Maxwell Cooper is a U18 athlete for Team Palisades Tahoe. Max trains 5 days a week working towards a goal of making the US Ski Team or skiing for a college team. In addition to skiing Far West, he represents his zoned high school on their ski team. To help fund his ski racing, Max teaches mountain biking to younger kids in the summer and has won money in mountain bike races. Max’s coach said Max has a commendable work ethic. He consistently demonstrates discipline, determination, and perseverance in both his academic and athletic pursuits. His teacher stated has consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication, enthusiasm, and talent both within his academic studies and his extracurricular activities.
Some of Max’s ski racing accomplishments in the 2023/34 season include qualifying for U16 Nationals where he achieved 13th place in Slalom (6th place in second run) and 5th place in Super G training run, and 3rd place in the U16 Western Regionals Slalom. The Marce Herz Foundation is happy to sponsor Maxwell and wish him the best for his 24/25 race season.
Congrats to our 2022 Far West Scholarship winners!
Congratulations to Bobbi Griffin and Jake Brown, who were selected as this season's Marce Herz Far West Skiing Scholarship recipients. We felt they best exemplified the Foundation and were the embodiment of Marce’s ideals of dedication, self-discipline and integrity. These athletes display these characteristics in their lives, education, and their ambitious athletic goals. The Marce Herz Foundation is proud to help these athletes achieve their goals and to be a part of their season.
BOBBI GRIFFIN
Bobbi is a U18 FIS athlete with Team Palisades.
Tahoe. Bobbi’s coach says “She has been a great teammate to all the other athletes in our program/division and has always been supportive of her competitors, win or lose.” Her High School Principal let us know that Bobbi knows the importance of learning and strives to be a person who can be successful in many areas of life including academic life, school life, and ski life.
Bobbi told us that she is very dedicated to the sport of ski racing stating: I wake up earlier than most everyone else because I have to feed my animals including horses, cattle, lambs, chickens, and dogs. I train hard, get to the course earlier than others, try to get in an extra run in the course. I also love to have fun free skiing when training is over. It is so important to be with teammates and also with my mom.
Bobbi has placed in the top 10 in over ten races during the 2021/2022 season. We wish Bobbi great success also during this 2022/2023 season.
JAKE BROWN
Jake is a fist year U18 athlete with the Mt. Rose Ski Team.
Jake learned to ski and started his race career at Sky Tavern. He moved to the Mt. Rose Ski Team to race in more Far West races. Jake loves skiing because it makes him feel free. He told us “On a racecourse or in training I get the opportunity to try and always better myself with my times and my skiing ability.” Jakes goal this year with racing is to improve my current point standings and start to race at the FIS level. He says has a lot of work to put in to get this goal, but he believes he can reach that goal because of the support I have with my team and my family.
Jake’s former Assistant Principal mentioned the most impressive thing about Jake is his ability to continue to overcome challenges, develop appropriate and positive friendships and stay focused on his goals. She saw Jake light up when he talked about skiing. Jake’s coach said “Jake has become a team leader. Always early to training and ready to go, Jake shows his teammates what is expected to work toward their goals.”
Jake quoted Bodie Miller who said “ski racing is a marathon and that most leave before they get great.” Jake went on to say this is the start of my marathon and I look forward to what my future holds. We wish Jake the best in 2022/2023 season.
Congrats to our 2021 Far West Scholarship winners!
Congratulations to Savannah Taylor and Ryan Herhusky, who were selected as this season's Marce Herz Far West Skiing Scholarship recipients. We felt they best exemplified the Foundation and were the embodiment of Marce’s ideals of dedication, self-discipline and integrity. These athletes display these characteristics in their lives, education, and their ambitious athletic goals. The Marce Herz Foundation is proud to help these athletes achieve their goals and to be a part of their season.
Savannah Taylor
Savannah is 2nd year U16 with the Snow Summit Race Team in Big Bear Lake, CA
Savannah is described as a "great role model for our younger team athletes, showing up on time, having equipment prepped and ready and warming up prior to training without being asked. This is especially impressive as she and her family come in from out of state each weekend," says former coach Sara Schat.
Her Math Teacher points out that "Savannah is a great team-mate, hard worker and problem solver. She is the poster child of the growth mindset that allows her to create a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment."
Savannah declares that sleeping in is considered 6am as she has dedicated her life to her athletic success and physical fitness. She is an avid Cross Country runner for her school along with her Ski Racing training. Savannah qualified for U16 Regional Championships during the 2020 season and has a goal of qualifying again in 2021 as she prepares to race FIS in the 2022 season. To do this she plans on focusing on improving her technique and becoming more aggressive in her skiing.
Ryan Herhusky
Ryan is a 2nd year U19 FIS athlete with the Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy.
Ryan is described as one that "displays a desire to be a life-long learner; he exhibits supportive and empathetic behaviour in group settings and rarely focuses on himself for very long; he shows gratitude at every turn and shows respect to teammates, mentors and competitors alike," says coach Brad Saxe. His academic advisor and former U16 coach Andrew Becker states, "he is an incredibly hard worker, is dedicated to doing his best in everything that he starts, and has the ability to maintain focus and perform under pressure to a higher degree than most athletes."
Ryan states, "He loves how unpredictable ski racing is and how it keeps you challenged at every turn." His goals are to lower his Slalom Rank, qualify for US Nationals again and to be selected for a good college team and race NCAA while continuing to try and make the National Team.