The Gina May Wiese Memorial Scholarship was founded in 2022 by Ron Wiese in honor of his late wife, Gina. Gina was a grateful member of the recovery community and was kind, caring, and giving her entire life. Gina’s scholarship aims to make a difference in people’s lives by funding tuition, textbooks, and supplies in addition to their scholarship from The Next Step. Eligible students meet criteria focusing on classroom excellence and respecting and caring for others. 

Ron has committed to funding this scholarship annually with $20,000. His hope is to continue growing this fund each year with additional donations to better help students in recovery with additional scholarship funding.

I cannot begin to put into words how grateful I am. The work The Next Step does is so important. The transformative nature of education is without parallel. It is, with the exception of 12-step programs, the most impactful thing in the lives of those in recovery. I still believe that there are probably people that are far more deserving than myself.

I am humbled by the generosity of Ron Wiese and all the donors. I hope they know the impact they have had on my life and more than likely all the other recipients as well. It is their generosity that not only facilitates the realization of recipients’ dreams, but also the connections we make through this scholarship.

Mark D.

MEET OUR RECIPIENTS

Kristi L.

Kristi L.

2022 Recipient

Mark D.

Mark D.

2022 Recipient

Christy I.

Christy I.

2022 Recipient

Lili S.

Lili S.

2022 Recipient