MASON CITY – Students at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) who received scholarships this year had an opportunity to show their gratitude during the annual student Scholarship Recognition Luncheon held at the Muse Norris Conference Center on Monday, October 15, 2012.
“This is an important tradition that allows scholarship recipients the opportunity to personally thank the donors who made the scholarships possible,” said Dr. Debra Derr, NIACC President. “Each student has a unique story to tell and this year’s student speakers shared their own amazing stories.”
The recognition program featured comments from Ellen Kay, Chief Financial Officer of Area Community Educators Credit Union (ACE), located in Mason City. ACE Credit Union consists of eleven board members, including Ellen and employees of both NIACC and the Mason City School District. “Eight years ago, our board made a unanimous decision to give an annual scholarship to the NIACC foundation. As an educator’s credit union, the board felt that we needed to support our local college and its students. NIACC is a valuable asset to Mason City and the surrounding communities. We are truly fortunate to have such a great community college in North Iowa to provide exceptional opportunities for prospective students,” stated Kay.
Several student scholarship recipients also spoke at NIACC’s scholarship recognition luncheon.
Alexandria Eckenrod is a second year student at NIACC majoring in elementary education with dreams of being a 4th grade teacher. Eckenrod, a Newman Catholic graduate says, “Since I chose to attend NIACC first, it has given me the opportunity to complete all of my general education courses before I move on to a four-year university. It has also given me the opportunity to take most of the teaching classes I need to enter the teaching school at the university I choose to attend.”
Receiving both the Betty Geer scholarship and a golf athletic scholarship, Eckenrod say she feels it’s important to provide scholarships for students, because it opens many doors for students that might have remained shut otherwise. She said, “when a student receives a scholarship it is a sign of relief when they know that people see how hard they are working in athletics, academics or the arts.”
Tyler Rice, of Lake Mills, was this year’s recipient of the Ron and Karen Knudtson Scholarship. He shared with the crowd what receiving this scholarship has done for him.
“This scholarship has allowed me attend college more affordably. Even if it’s a community college it is still expensive and hard to get through classes if you have to work all the time. This scholarship has allowed me to attend more classes and to buy the necessary items for class. Having a little extra money from a scholarship lets you study longer for a test and not work 20 hours a week worrying about if you’re going to be able to make the next rent payment,” say Rice.
Rice plans on continuing his nursing education and receiving a BSN.
When Marc Blackburn got hurt on the job and he could no longer continue in his current profession, he made the decision to go back to school and work towards obtaining an Associate in Arts degree in Information Technology. What was different for Marc was that going back to school meant he would need to find some assistance to allow him to go to school, keep his household running and most importantly, not let his parenting suffer.
“There’s not always a lot of help out there for students like me,” said Blackburn. “Much is geared toward first year “typical” students.” Blackburn emphasized the importance of being able to study hard and maintain a high grade point average. “If I had to worry and stress about school, bills, parenting and work, my grades would suffer. I would like to thank you for creating these scholarships and wanting to help students like me. If it wasn’t for scholarship donors, some of us wouldn’t have the chance to go back to school,” expressed Blackburn.
Receiving the Betty Geer Scholarship and the NIACC Vocal Music Foundation Scholarship has allowed Callie Snitker to do what she loves; being one of the NIACC Concert Choir Captains and assistant softball coach. “Being able to represent the NIACC’s softball team and NIACC Singers has been an honor to me. Without my scholarships I would not have been able to successfully balance all that I do,” said Callie Snitker, a sophomore at NIACC.
After she graduates from NIACC, Callie plans to attend Iowa State University and study event management. “Thank you to my scholarship donors for helping me live the college experience,” a grateful Snitker added.
As the cost of higher education continues to increase, so does the need for student financial assistance in the forms of loans, grants and scholarships. Scholarship donations help students keep their borrowing to a minimum. While the College experiences great support from groups and individuals each year, the need remains for private support of the NIACC Foundation.
For more information on how to help the College help deserving students, please contact the NIACC Foundation at 641-422-4386.