Saint Vincent College announced that Makenna Maier, a senior mathematics education major from Butler, won the 2026 Kathleen Durkin Bendel Memorial Scholarship.

The $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to an education major or minor who is either a junior or in their last year before student teaching. The Saint Vincent College Department of Education selects the winner for exemplifying the values Bendel, a beloved teacher, championed: academic excellence, empathy, service and leadership.

Maier is a four-year member of the Saint Vincent College women’s basketball team and served as co-captain for the 2025-26 season. She also serves as a math tutor for high school students and leads a summer basketball camp for girls in grades three through six.

She has earned several academic and athletic honors at Saint Vincent. Maier is a member of three national honor societies and has been named to the dean’s list each semester. On the basketball court, she was named second team All-President’s Athletic Conference and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District as a junior and senior.