The NIACC Foundation
October 15, 2004
NIACC Recognizes 2004-05 Scholarship Recipients and Donors
A number of thank you’s and details of future plans were exchanged as North
Iowa Area Community College honored 2004-05 scholarship donors and student
recipients at a recognition luncheon on Friday.
"We want to celebrate the success of our student scholarship recipients and
deeply thank our scholarship donors. Their kindness will significantly impact
the lives of students in North Iowa. We are very fortunate to have such great
friends of the College," Jamie Zanios, NIACC Foundation director, said.
The recognition program featured comments from Tom Schaefer, Schaefer
Building Trades scholarship donor and Henkel Construction president, and Bill
Feller, First Citizens National Bank scholarship donor representative and First
Citizens Charitable Foundation trust officer.
"It’s great to encourage and make opportunities available to students that
may not otherwise be able to afford a college education," Schaefer said. "We’ve
always had such a fondness for NIACC. We enjoy receiving the students’ thank you
notes and watching them grow at NIACC while they learn and develop into
successful citizens."
Schaefer and his wife Linda created the Schaefer Building Trades Scholarship
to educate students for success in an area with a growing demand for workers.
Both Tom and Linda have a vested interest in North Iowa. Tom is from Mason City
and Linda grew up in Rudd. Tom’s father worked for Henkel, and Tom joined the
company after graduating from the University of Iowa. Linda, a 1970 graduate of
NIACC, was a teacher at the Mason City Alternative High School for 24 years.
"With an excellent facility like NIACC in North Iowa, we need to establish
scholarships to assist NIACC students in achieving their goals," Linda said.
"Their education impacts both their own futures and the future of North Iowa."
Feller agreed with the need to invest in the future of the North Iowa region
and the pursuit of higher education.
"First Citizens National Bank has always been very involved with NIACC. A
number of our employees and our employees’ children have attended the College,"
Feller said. "I’d encourage everyone to get involved in NIACC’s scholarship
program. It’s great to see the direct benefit when the students graduate and
it’s an investment in the future. We’re committed to our local communities and
it’s important to make sure scholarships are available for people in those
communities."
The First Citizens National Bank Scholarship was established as a way for the
bank to give back to its banking communities.
"These are students who will come back and live in our towns, and we want to
help provide a quality education," O. Jay Tomson, First Citizens National Bank
president, said.
Several student scholarship recipients also spoke at NIACC’s scholarship
recognition luncheon.
Joanna Aves, a music major from Manly, was very grateful for her scholarship
and the opportunities it provided her.
"Had I not had a scholarship, all of my free time would have been spent
trying to earn tuition for college," Aves said. "The scholarships that I have
been given have allowed me to participate in extra-curricular activities, meet
new people and be able to grow as a musician without financial worry. Personal
contact with my instructors, mentorship by my music directors, the smaller
campus and the cost along with my scholarships have made NIACC an ideal
selection for my education."
Mark Jensen, a business major from Osage, explained that attending NIACC has
enabled him to experience cultural diversity at its best from a people and
educational standpoint.
"There’s such a huge opportunity to learn from one another at NIACC," Jensen
said. "Contributions from people that give to scholarships have a broader impact
than just meeting financial needs. It starts a cycle of encouragement,
validation and support."
Caroline P.A. Jones, a nursing major who lives in Britt and is originally
from Brazil, noted that the kindness of scholarship donors has allowed her to
get an education without accumulating a large debt at the same time.
"The financial help I received through scholarships helped me succeed as a
full time student and complete my degree in two years," Jones said. "Since I
don’t have to worry about working my way through college, I’m able to spend that
time studying and raising my three year-old daughter."
Ryan Volk, an elementary education major from New Hampton, felt that
scholarships allowed him to participate in a number of campus activities and
return for a third year to complete his coursework before transferring to Iowa
State University for a degree in elementary education.
"I’m thankful for the donors’ giving hearts and generosity. It definitely
helped me and provided me with options," Volk said. "It’s a blessing to know
that there are people who care enough to help others make life changes through
scholarships."
Last year, over 700 people applied for NIACC scholarships, and only 322 were
awarded. Scholarship donations help the College bridge the gap toward awarding
deserving students. While the College experiences great support from groups such
as the Muse Norris Foundation and other donors each year, the gap still remains
and the need is increasing for private support of the NIACC Foundation.
"Our donors have provided a great start in our effort to increase the
Foundation endowment to provide financial aid to deserving students," Zanios
said. "As the cost of education has increased, the need for financial help to
deserving students is even more critical. These donors set an example to others
on how they might support our youth."
For more information on how to help the College acknowledge deserving
students, please contact the NIACC Foundation at 641-422-4386.
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Speaking at the NIACC Scholarship Luncheon were (left to right) Caroline P.A.
Jones, Linda Schaeffer, Tom Schaefer, Joanna Aves, Bill Feller, Mark Jensen and
Ryan Volk.
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