Emma Hageman Earns 2026 Bill Burch Humanitarian Award
Emma Hageman Earns 2026 Bill Burch Humanitarian Award
Emma Hageman Named 2026 Bill Burch Humanitarian Award Winner
Emma Hageman, Southeast Polk Senior, was named the 2026 Bill Burch Humanitarian Award winner at this morning’s Annual Bill Burch Scholarship and Recognition Breakfast. Each year, 100 SEP High School students are recognized as Bill Burch Humanitarian Nominees. Each student nominee has shown compassion, dedication, and a willingness to help others while in high school. However, only one senior is chosen by the high school staff for this prestigious award as the student who best exemplifies the personal qualities of Bill Burch. This year it is Emma Hageman.
Emma has been a leader in the classroom and in a variety of extracurricular activities. She’s driven, setting high goals for herself and working tirelessly to achieve them, approaching each commitment with determination and pride. She’s known for being respectful and leading with kindness, integrity, and genuine care for others. Teachers describe her as humble, curious, and with positive energy, striving not only for personal excellence but to elevate those around them.
Emma has an outstanding academic record while being involved in many activities throughout high school. She is involved in the student council, National Honor Society, Speech, Show Choir, and golf. This year, she brought many smiles and laughter to the audience as the Cat in the Hat in this year’s musical.
Congratulations, Emma, on an amazing high school career and for earning this prestigious award!
About the Bill Burch Award
Bill Burch was a school counselor at Southeast Polk High School from 1974 until 1992. The Bill Burch Scholarship and Recognition Breakfast was named after
Mr. Burch in honor of his commitment to the students and adults of the Southeast Polk community. He was known as a man of compassion and integrity who took the time to relate to students and adults alike. The Bill Burch Humanitarian Award represents a long-standing Southeast Polk tradition that dates back to 1993 and is presented to the student who best exemplifies his character, sincerity, and compassion toward others. What makes this award such an honor is that the Southeast Polk High School faculty selects the senior recipient who best represents Bill Burch’s personal qualities.
We were honored that Jean Burch, wife of Bill, was able to attend this morning’s event. She continues to play an important part of the award, reaching out to talk with each year’s winner.
2019 Bill Burch Winner Paige Blackford
This year’s featured speaker at the Bill Burch award ceremony was Paige Blackford. Paige graduated from Southeast Polk in 2019. During her time here, she participated in track, cross country, National Honor Society, DECA, and many other clubs and organizations. She was voted homecoming queen by her classmates. During high school, Paige was recruited to run for the University of Nebraska-Omaha and continued her academic and athletic journey there, graduating in the summer of 2022 with a degree in Criminal Justice. She pursued a master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, leading to a role with military intelligence. Paige continues to set her path and is a firm believer in the value of education and the importance of investing in yourself and discovering your passions in life. How did she determine the path she took? An advisor asked her what her favorite TV show was, and her answer, Law and Order, pointed her in the right direction! She’s an incredible representative of Southeast Polk.
Click here to see the 2026 Bill Burch Scholarship and Recognition Breakfast Program.
Congratulations to all of the sophomore, junior and senior Bill Burch Nominees. You are amazing representatives of Southeast Polk and we look forward to following your success! You are leading the way to a better world!
Thanks to our high school counselors, who always put on a wonderful event to honor and recognize these exemplary students.
