Ben Johnson

ESCANABA — The 15th Annual Laura M. Hivala Memorial Scholarship has bee awarded for the 2023-2024 school year. This year’s recipient is Ben Johnson of Escanaba.

Johnson is a 2024 graduate of Escanaba Area High School and is attending Michigan Technological University in Houghton, where he will major in engineering. Johnson is also a member of the MTU Huskies football team. He is the son of Krista and Scott Johnson of Escanaba.

The Laura M. Hivala Scholarship is an annual scholarship awarded to an Escanaba High School graduate attending MTU. This award is made possible through donations from family and friends of Laura Hivala.

Hivala passed away in Januart of 2010 at the age of 32. She was a 1996 graduate of Escanaba High School, received a Presidential Scholar Award to attend Michigan Tech and graduated in 2000 with an environmental engineering degree.

At the time of her death, she was employed and living in Louisville, Ky.