In the Community

Dearborn Ranch Fund Scholarship Recipients

July 15, 2021

Briana and Zane Guse have quite a few things in common. As brother and sister, they are both proud to be the children of retired game warden, Harold Guse. They are also both recent graduates of Rocky Mountain College in their hometown of Billings and received the Dearborn Ranch Game Wardens Scholarship from the Montana Community Foundation (MCF) to support their educational endeavors.

The Dearborn Ranch Scholarship Fund was established at MCF in 2002 through a $1 million gift from the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation. Each year, the fund awards educational scholarships to the children of uniformed law enforcement officers of the Montana Highway Patrol and the children of game wardens of Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

Zane graduated from Rocky Mountain College in 2019, double majoring in Business Administration & Health and Human Performance: Sports Management. Zane’s childhood dream was to play football in college and, according to Zane, the Dearborn Ranch Game Wardens Scholarship helped make this dream a reality. Zane went on to play football at Rocky Mountain College and the scholarship enabled him to invest the time he needed to play football and pursue his studies, without having to take on a job as well. He believes that he would not have achieved as much during his time at Rocky without the assistance.

Briana graduated from Rocky Mountain College this past spring, with a degree in Health and Human Performance with an Exercise Science concentration. For Briana, receiving this scholarship means a lot to her. It reflects her dad’s service in law enforcement as well as her scholastic accomplishments. The scholarship made a substantial difference in Briana’s financial future. It allowed her to focus on academics instead of having to work more during school and she paid less out of pocket for school.

Zane and Briana are proud to be Montanans and haven chosen to take the education they received and put it to work right here in Montana.

After graduation, Zane spent his first two years working at Rocky Mountain College as an offensive line and tight end coach for the Bears. A part of his job was the recruitment of the players. As a former student-athlete himself, he was able to use his experience and love for Montana to convince athletes to come to Montana for school, because he believes Montana provides so many opportunities for people from all walks of life.

After six years on the field as a player and coach, Zane is transitioning into the Assistant Athletic Director of Operations and Communications position with Rocky Mountain College. While coaching, Zane had the opportunity to work with and help young men grow into adulthood and set them up to be excellent members of society. Now he’s able to help shape the lives of about 400 student-athletes instead of 120, and he gets to do it every day.

When Briana was still working on her degree, she knew she wanted to pursue a path that allowed her to help others. Since graduation, Briana has been working as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and personal care assistant for people with disabilities. She is also building her own business.

Zane would like to thank the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship fund donors for their generosity and is pleased to see the scholarship program continue so that other young adults can continue to better their lives in the state we all love.

Briana would also like to express her gratitude to the Dearborn Ranch Scholarship fund donors and scholarship committee for their generosity and for selecting her as a recipient. This scholarship has positively impacted her future and she hopes that others can continue to benefit from this scholarship in the future.