ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Each year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota awards one scholarship in honor of BriAnna Kruzel, a former Little and High School Big who passed away unexpectedly in 2013.
The recipient of this year’s BriAnna Kruzel Memorial Scholarship is Hazel Snavely. Snavely has been a Little in the program for eight years, and she graduates from Pelican Rapids Secondary later this spring. She will be attending Alexandria Technical & Community College for Interior Design.
As well as being a part of BBBS, Snavely volunteers in at the local humane society, in the nursery at her church and helps support her great aunt who is visually impaired by driving her to appointments, helping get groceries, and helping her around the house.
“I have had several Bigs who have all given me different opportunities to grow and learn, and to get to understand different perspectives,” she said. “It felt good to know that there were people in the community who chose to give up their free time to spend with me. Through the Bigs, I have been encouraged to expand my understanding of the world, and been supported when I was struggling with growing and the challenges at school and home.”
The BriAnna Kruzel Memorial Scholarship is given in honor of BriAnna by her parents, Tami and Randy Kruzel, to keep her memory alive. BriAnna was active with BBBS, and was named the 2013 High School Big Sister of the Year for her commitment to the program and her Little Sister. She volunteered with the Sartell Community Education, her church, and believed in loving each and every person she came across.