Local college honors memory of a former star athlete

HANCOCK — An effort is underway to honor the memory of a former star athlete at Finlandia.

This open space at the Paavo Nurmi Center on the campus of Finlandia University in Hancock will look a lot different six weeks from now. It will be furnished as a new student lounge named after former athletic stand-out Shawn Wickersham who graduated in 2008. He earned a total of nine letters while playing basketball, baseball and soccer at Finlandia and was the recipient of the Lion Award for academic achievement as a student athlete.

Tragically, Shawn’s life was cut short as the result of a single-vehicle accident in August of last year. He was 29 years old. Finlandia Assistant Athletic Director said, “He was a very competitive student athlete. He had a really outgoing personality. A lot of the students really enjoyed him while he was here. He was just a fun kid to be around and a hard worker as well.”

The idea of establishing a memorial fund in Shawn’s name came from one of his friends. Wittenberg said, “The idea started with a contact from a friend of his that he played basketball with here at Finlandia, Tucker Thoreson of Crystal Falls. Him and his family started this memorial fund and wanted to find a way to remember Shawn here on the campus of Finlandia University in some way that would touch a lot of students.”

Details on how to donate can be found by clicking here..

Donations to the fund will go toward the Shawn Wickersheim Memorial Student Lounge which will feature pub tables, computers and plenty of places to relax. The university will unveil the lounge September 3rd, the same day they open their new
football locker rooms at McAfee Field.