By Abby Grafmyre
April 21, 2025
The Greater Denfeld Foundation (GDF) scholarship recipients are doing amazing things with their scholarship awards. With this profile, we begin a series that introduces GDF recipients and shares the good work they are doing!
Madison McKean, the first GDF recipient to be introduced in this series, is a recipient of the Armond Hauge Scholarship. She is a 2023 graduate of Denfeld High School and a current student at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she is triple majoring in Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Biology.
These majors provide her with the opportunity to conduct endless experiments. One of her favorite experiments uses UV and fluorescent imaging to view the fluorescence of Ethidium Bromide, which she says fluoresces blue at 600 nanometers. She is involved with UMD’s Pre-Medicine Club and Biochemistry Club, and is part of the McNair Scholars Program.
Madison McKean
Hauge Award Recipient
“The Greater Denfeld Foundation has helped me immensely by providing financial assistance so I can focus on my coursework instead of worrying about financial struggles. I am grateful,” McKean says.
McKean is studying abroad in May to learn about sustainable environmental practices in the Scandinavian cities of Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bergen and Oslo. She will learn the sustainability initiatives and business practices of these cities and see how they can be implemented in the United States. To gain deeper knowledge, she will learn about the culture and how it corresponds to their sustainability practices, along with critically comparing and contrasting Scandinavia’s sustainability initiatives with those in the United States.
After her study-abroad adventure, she will continue her research through the Summer Undergrad Research Program, also known as SURP. This is for undergrad students seeking research experience and also offers presentation and public speaking experience. She also conducts research in a faculty-led research lab, where she studies breast cancer cells. She hopes to attend medical school post-grad to become a Pathologist. Her favorite part about attending UMD is gaining new opportunities for research through networking and meeting people that share her interests.
Since 1971, the Greater Denfeld Foundation has been dedicated to supporting Duluth Denfeld High School students by providing awards and scholarships for their post-secondary education expenses, along with donations to staff to ensure students have access to a valuable and enriching educational experience.
Abby Grafmyre is a Hauge Scholarship who attends UMD, majoring in English, Communication, and Journalism.