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‘Helping Each Other’

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For the First Time, Future Physicians Will Complete Their Medical Training in Kearney

By Kelsey Kirk

Cordelia Harbison grew up visiting Lexington Regional Health Center in Lexington, Nebraska.

For at least a decade, she would drop off dinner to her stepmom, who was a nurse at the hospital.

Those night-shift visits showed Harbison the impact that physicians can have on their patients, especially in a rural part of the state. And it made her realize a career in medicine was within reach.

“That drove me to want it even more,” Harbison said, “especially seeing the amount of good you can do in a rural area.”

Harbison is in her freshman year at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She’s majoring in chemistry with a health science emphasis. She plans to become a family practice physician.

Harbison, 19, will stay in Kearney — a 30-minute drive from her family home in Lexington — for the duration of her collegiate career. And upon finishing medical school, Harbison hopes to stay in central Nebraska to practice in a rural town.

That’s one of the goals of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program, a joint project between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center that was established in 2010. In 2015, the $19 million UNMC-UNK Health Sciences Education Complex opened its doors, offering programs in nursing and allied health professions on campus in Kearney.

Now the two campuses have teamed up again, this time offering start-to-finish training for physicians. UNMC is bringing its College of Medicine to Kearney with the planned construction of an $95 million Rural Health Education Building.

The continued collaboration is designed to meet the urgent demand for health care workers in rural Nebraska. Dentists, nurses, pharmacists and numerous allied health professionals are in short supply, and the state has designated every county in Nebraska, except for urban Douglas and Lancaster, as health care shortage areas. But perhaps nowhere are the shortages more urgently felt than in primary care. A 2022 report by UNMC Rural Health Initiatives said more than a quarter of counties in Nebraska have either no family physician or just one family physician serving an area of more than 2,000 people.

The Rural Health Education Building, set to be complete in 2025, for the first time will allow future physicians to complete their medical training in Kearney and bring public health and pharmacy students to UNK while expanding offerings for allied health and nursing students. The initiative aims to build on the success of the Health Sciences Education Complex, which has seen 85% of its graduates start their careers in rural Nebraska.

“It’s almost shocking to think you can have (an academic) medical center here in Kearney, Nebraska,” Harbison said. “I am excited because I don’t know of many medical centers in small towns. This is going to be the center of Nebraska, a diamond in the rough.”

Harbison said she’s excited to be part of the program, especially as a member of one of the first generations to go through it.

“It’s almost shocking to think you can have (an academic) medical center here in Kearney, Nebraska,” Harbison said. “I am excited because I don’t know of many medical centers in small towns. This is going to be the center of Nebraska, a diamond in the rough.”

Harbison wants to return to a small community after graduation. The Lexington area would be ideal, she said, but she would enjoy serving elsewhere in central Nebraska, too.

While Harbison briefly considered going into pharmacy, shadowing physicians in Lexington let her see the difference in how physicians work compared with pharmacists.

“That kind of put me in their shoes,” she said.

Those shadowing experiences were moving, Harbison said, especially seeing the way each doctor knew their patients on a more personal level.

Harbison, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, was especially moved to see physicians working with Spanish-speaking patients and connecting with them despite the language barrier.

Another driving factor was the experience Harbison’s sister had during her pregnancy. When Harbison’s sister, who lives in the Ogallala area, went into labor, her doctor was at another appointment 60 miles away.

In her sister’s case, everything went smoothly. But Harbison said other people may not have the same positive outcomes.

“I want to be able to help,” she said. “You don’t want to have to go through that stuff alone.”

The decision to land at UNK fell into place her senior year of high school, Harbison said. Staying close to her hometown was a plus and felt less intimidating than moving to Omaha to attend UNMC after graduation.

The Kearney Health Opportunities Program’s goal is to support health care workers in training and improve health care delivery in rural areas. Harbison identified with that objective, and she wanted to make her intentions clear in her applications. She even made her siblings read all her scholarship applications to be sure she was getting the message across.

“I want to see rural areas that don’t have to struggle with health care,” Harbison said. “I wanted to express how seriously I wanted to return. Some people sign up with no intention of returning to a rural area. I want to give back to people what they gave to me.”

Harbison said students in the program all have the same end goal: making a difference as physicians and health care workers.

“We’re not so much competing with each other and trying to outwork one another, but helping each other achieve the same goal,” Harbison said. “Everyone genuinely wants each other to succeed.”

The official groundbreaking for the Rural Health Education Building was Sept. 5.

And We’re Rolling…

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Students Go Live in State-of-the-art Experience Lab

By Deborah Shanahan

On a March Friday night, with spring football curiosity running high, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Athletic Director Trev Alberts sat for a live interview on the new set of Nebraska Nightly, a student-led newscast.

It was quite a score for Nathan Hawkins, a senior from Bellevue, Nebraska. The sports media and communication and broadcasting major said he had prepared all week for the exclusive interview.

Afterward, Alberts told an interviewer that he was impressed by the investment the university has made to give journalism students the tools they need to develop their skills.

“People should know the technology here is amazing,” Alberts said. “There’s a lot of talent in the room, you can tell. A lot of passion.”

Passion is a word several students also used to describe what they’re drawing from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications’ heavy emphasis on experiential learning, along with practice, portfolios and professional contacts.

“I’m jealous of freshmen who will have this their entire careers here,” said Lance Vie, a senior broadcasting major from Fontanelle, Nebraska. “Look around at this nice new studio. Students sit in front of the equipment and their eyes light up. It’s all stuff they want to learn.”

Support the College of Journalism and Mass Communications

Journalism colleges long have strived to offer real-world experiences, but usually after a year or two of basic skills learning. At UNL, under the leadership of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications Dean Shari Veil, MBA, Ph.D., the college’s motto is “do from day one.” Beginning this year, freshmen are required to enroll in an Experience Lab course their first semester on campus.

“Practice makes perfect, and we’re all practice all the time,” said Jemalyn Griffin, co-director of the Experience Lab. 

The interdisciplinary lab breaks down barriers and silos, Griffin said, giving students a broad sense of different areas of opportunity. “We hope to respond to what the market is demanding,” she said.

The early access to hands-on experiences is already boosting enrollment. Veil wrote in December that the college’s 16.3% growth in incoming freshmen led the university, and transfer enrollments more than doubled.

A hub of this hands-on learning is the Don and Lorena Meier Studio, which opened in November in Andersen Hall. The foundation established by the couple pledged $10 million for scholarships over the next 25 years and $755,000 for the new television studio and newsroom.

The Meiers were familiar with quality broadcasting through their own media careers, which included producing the well-known “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” Don Meier, who died in 2019, wanted to assist students because he recalled his own struggles to afford college. 

The investments have continued, Veil recently told donors in a letter, citing the Phil Perry Family Photography Studio and Classroom, a new radio tower and antenna on Oldfather Hall, the new Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab and more sponsors for student-run advertising agencies. 

The Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab serves the fast-growing sports media and communication major, which was established in 2017 and enrolled 300 students as of last fall. The space features state-of-the-art equipment, which allows students to go live during sports broadcasts. 

Advertising and public relations majors mostly work across the street from the studio at what’s known as The Agency — 14 offices customized and furnished by sponsoring firms.

In all, the Experience Lab spaces house Unlimited Sports; Jacht, a student-run advertising agency; Buoy, an advertising and public relations agency for nonprofits; KRNU, the campus radio station; Heartland Pulse, an online community magazine; the Nebraska News Service, a statewide wire service; and Nebraska Nightly, a recorded news show.

Students working in the Meier studio spaces and newsroom have provided coverage of election night, the Nebraska Legislature and other news, feeding the Nebraska News Service.

“Over and over, we see weeklies pick up our content,” said Jill Martin, co-director of the Experience Lab. A Panhandle newspaper usually is not going to have the staff to send to Lincoln for a legislative hearing, she said, so it’s truly a service when students provide the coverage.

Students work four to six hours a week in the lab. From their work, students build portfolios to show potential employers.

“Young professionals I’ve spoken to are blown away by the opportunity we get right from the day we start college,” said Paige Brophy, a junior advertising and public relations major from Lincoln. “We’re exposed to real-life work for real-life clients. Our ideas are implemented in the real world.”

Students praise the chances they get to work with industry professionals and to take on leadership roles themselves because of the Experience Lab’s human infrastructure. 

Volunteer professionals-in-residence and paid student leads help to coach students from idea to production, providing technical know-how, guidance and feedback.

Odelia Amenyah, a senior from Omaha majoring in advertising and public relations and journalism, said she works with fellow students on interviews and gathering other components of content packages. The Experience Lab is a great setup for when students want to team up, she said. 

The student lead role is not just about production, Martin said.

“We talk a lot about cultivating leadership, managing up and down, communication and collaboration,” she said.

The professionals-in-residence share best industry practices and get a chance to observe and interact with students for their own recruiting. 

Kloee Sander, a senior from Lincoln, said her college connections led to several off-campus work experiences, including several months at a local television station. She was exposed to the behind-the-scenes work of getting an investigative report on the air. Now, she is headed to law school after she graduates in May.

“I saw the impact a lawyer can have on newsroom storytelling,” she said.

For sports broadcasting major Hawkins, watching students create something they are proud of has been one of his favorite parts of working in the lab. But nothing beats the assignment today.

“Overall, the best part is doing what I’m doing today,” Hawkins said. “The Alberts interview.”

Odelia Amenyah poses in front of sign reading "im so insanely proud of you"

“For me, it’s been a really great place to communicate with different faculty, to build relationships with them. That’s led to different opportunities. It’s helped with my portfolio, and I’ve had a chance to show management skills.”

 

-Odelia Amenyah of Omaha
Senior advertising and public relations
and journalism major

Memorializing a Mother’s Inspiration

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Architecture Grad Drafts Plans to Aid Students

By Ed Rider

Richard Griffin knows what it’s like to come from an underprivileged family. Growing up in Central Missouri as the middle child of a single mother, Richard, a Burnett Society member, didn’t have the resources to pay out-of-state tuition to pursue his degree in architecture.

Thanks to a reciprocal tuition program between the University of Missouri and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Richard earned his degree from the UNL College of Architecture in 1980 and went on to a successful career with firms across the United States.

A longtime resident of Arizona, Richard credited his experiences growing up in Missouri and attending UNL for motivating him to make a planned gift to establish a scholarship in his late mother’s name — the Avanell Fowler Griffin Memorial Scholarship — at the College of Architecture.

“I lucked into the reciprocal program that got me to UNL in the first place,” Richard said. “There are so many students who come from disadvantaged situations who could become successful architects if only given the chance. So, I decided, if I was able, I would provide funding to the College of Architecture to be used specifically for scholarships for disadvantaged students who otherwise may not be able to pursue their dreams. I remember that as a student — every little bit helps.”

In November, Richard visited the College of Architecture and spoke with a group of third-year students. He said the conversations he had with those students, as well as the energy he felt around the college, were inspiring.

“It is clear that the vision for the college that was set in motion when I was a student by Dean (W. Cecil) Steward continues today,” he said.

Among the experiences that motivated Richard to create the gift, which was established as a bequest, were the many people he witnessed giving back to the College of Architecture, either serving as guest lecturers or by engaging students like him who were looking to enter the field of architecture. Richard also credited the history of the college and how graduates from UNL have helped shape the world.

But it was memories of his mother’s resolve while raising her three children alone through the crucial years of middle and high school that inspired Richard to create a scholarship in her memory.

“I decided to name the scholarship after her as a way of ensuring that everyone remember that she did everything she could for me, and all she asked in return was for me not to give her anything to worry about,” Richard said. “She continues to inspire what I do. I feel that honoring her in this way is the least I can do.”

Campus Kickoff Events Draw Interest and Enthusiasm for Campaign

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By Ed Rider

The impact of philanthropy throughout the University of Nebraska is unmistakable. From state-of-the-art facilities to high-tech equipment, new educational programs, student scholarships and faculty support, private donors have left an impression on the university for generations to come.

Approximately 1,500 students, faculty and staff from across the University of Nebraska System gathered over several weeks to celebrate the launch of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. The campaign is a historic initiative to engage 150,000 benefactors to raise $3 billion to support the University of Nebraska and build the future Nebraska needs right now.

Campus campaign kickoff events began Dec. 7 at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska, with approximately 200 people in attendance. The University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha held rallies the next day that drew about 500 at each campus. Approximately 300 attendees took part in the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s event Jan. 24. Scheduled events at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln City Campus and East Campus were canceled due to a winter storm Feb. 16. The events will likely be rescheduled.

Fishermen with a vision find purpose through UNL’s Engler program

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By Dan Crisler

Before joining the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the end of his sophomore year, a frustrated Hunter Suchsland was almost ready to drop out of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

His friend Cade Ludwig felt much the same way before he joined the program at the beginning of his junior year.

“I would just go through the motions,” Ludwig said. “I did my homework when I had to, but I wasn’t really happy about it.”

Both Ludwig and Suchsland joined the Engler program after finding out about it through their academic advisers.

What made the friends joyful was fishing. Through the Engler program, Ludwig, who’s from Wood River, and Suchsland, who’s from Kearney, could pursue and monetize that passion by starting their business, LS Lures, to create tournament-grade lures.

By providing $50 in seed money to start a business, the Venture Lab experience in the Engler program encourages fledgling entrepreneurs to move forward and grow their business.

For the two friends, the $50 meant starting off by purchasing a few packs of hooks, silicone skirt material and raw lead to make bass jigs from scratch.

The initial investment led to sales that grew exponentially. Ludwig and Suchsland, who both graduated in May 2022, are now in their third year of owning and operating LS Lures. Available online and in several retail locations, the duo’s lures continue to attract an expanding customer base made up of recreational and tournament angler customers from multiple states.

“We’ve quadrupled sales and customers from year one to year two. And I think we’re going to do the same thing again this year,” Suchsland said.

Ludwig added he and Suchsland are now “light years” ahead compared to where they started. Initially, Ludwig said their lures were comparable to ones found at big box chains.

But after receiving $5,000 through an Engler fellowship program in summer 2021, Ludwig and Suchsland were able to improve their lure-making skills by using that money to pay living expenses, making their need for other employment less necessary.

Ludwig and Suchsland’s business got a huge boost after winning the UNL Center for Entrepreneurship’s 2021 New Venture Competition, taking home the first prize of $25,000.  Those funds, provided entirely by private donations, helped propel their business forward.

Today, Ludwig said, “we’re doing all custom stuff, the highest quality hooks. We don’t skimp anywhere.”

They have the marketing chops to match. The pair regularly post photos on their LS Lures Instagram account. Posts include their recent catches and creatively named products such as Albino Rhino or Lil Wizard.

Ludwig and Suchsland said some of their longest-lasting lures were good for catching more than 35 fish. None of their lures have failed or malfunctioned.

To Engler program director Thomas Field, Suchsland and Ludwig’s persistence and success are a typical Nebraska story. Like others in the Engler program, Field said the two men knew how to target their customer base and took a “can do” attitude to succeed.

“They had a clear market, and they’re immersed in that market. As such, they were able to understand their customers really well,” Field said. “They took action and then just stayed with it.”

As they continue to reach new heights with LS Lures, Suchsland and Ludwig remain cognizant of how their Engler coaches guided them and helped the business partners find their purpose.

“We can’t thank everybody in Engler enough. They’re kind of the whole route of how we got started,” Suchsland said, adding that people within the program were among their first customers and helped spread the word about their products.

Although many successful entrepreneurs have gotten their start through the Engler program, the program is now looking to move to its next phase and expand into rural communities across Nebraska. To that end, the Engler program hopes to raise $10 million as part of the University of Nebraska’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ $108 million campaign goal through Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future.

“We think that there is a whole host of good ideas spread across the state,” Field said. “We think our model, which is designed to get people off the sidelines … and get potential entrepreneurs past their doubt and fear to start something, is good for Nebraska.”

While the Engler program has found great success in reaching people through social media and radio spots, it will take more people and programming to cast a wider net.

“Our biggest challenge to me is: How do we structure what we do so we serve people where they are?” Field said. “A vibrant effort is going to require a footprint that meets the people in their communities, not necessarily just on campus.”

While the Engler program carries high expectations for its students, Ludwig and Suchsland can readily attest that staff members provide a level of coaching and motivation to match those expectations.

“Everybody in Engler that teaches or supports the kids has found a way to bring out the best in everybody,” Suchsland said. “All of the teachers do a really good job of understanding how to get the best out of people however they need to.”

Ludwig and Suchsland have only one regret about their time in the Engler program. It’s that they didn’t join sooner.

“I would have done anything to have four years in the Engler program,” Suchsland said. “Anybody who has even a slight thought or interest in entrepreneurship, or just wants to learn more about the world … definitely check out the Engler program, because they’ll change the way you think about everything.”

The Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program was founded in 2010 through the generosity of Paul Engler, who chairs the program’s advisory board. A native of Bassett, Nebraska, Engler graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in agriculture and built Cactus Feeders in Texas. Cactus Feeders is one of the largest feedlots in the United States.

Kiewit Hall Represents a New Landmark for University of Nebraska

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By Connie White

The College of Engineering’s Kiewit Hall isn’t slated to open until January 2024, but the still-under-construction building is already a landmark at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln — both for what it is and what it represents for Nebraska.

That’s how University of Nebraska System President Ted Carter described Kiewit Hall during a beam-signing ceremony for the project in August. Kiewit Hall, as a center of undergraduate engineering education, will position the University of Nebraska to meet growing workforce needs across the state.

“I’ve heard from Nebraskans how important it is that we as a university system, particularly our flagship here at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, be hand in glove with the business community and how we’re going to build out the future professions, particularly in engineering and STEM-based fields for the great state of Nebraska,” Carter said. “We cannot grow this state without filling that workforce. Kiewit Hall is the answer.”

Kiewit Hall is part of a transformation of College of Engineering facilities designed to expand its educational capabilities and research. The $190 million investment, the result of both public and private funding, represents the largest academic facilities project in UNL’s 154-year history.

Gracie Kerr, a sophomore civil engineering major from Omaha and one of the inaugural cohort of 10 Kiewit Scholars, said she’s excited about what Kiewit Hall will offer for her and future engineering students.

“Kiewit Hall will grant every engineering student the ability to learn as much as possible, to achieve their full potential and to grow into a top-notch engineer,” Kerr said. “By ensuring that all Nebraska engineering graduates leave prepared to make a difference, it is inevitable that the world will be changed for the better.”

Growing the College of Engineering is a major priority of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. The campaign’s overall goal is to raise $3 billion from 150,000 unique benefactors to support the University of Nebraska.

Group of students in yellow construction vests standing in front of the future Kiewit Hall

In addition to new and improved facilities, the College of Engineering seeks to increase its number of merit- and need-based scholarships to assist in recruiting and retaining students and to invest in faculty to help students succeed and increase the college’s ability to engage with industry and conduct research. And, an investment in research and innovation will fuel economic development in Nebraska.

“Philanthropy is just so important to enabling us to accomplish our goals and to deliver on our mission,” said College of Engineering Dean Lance C. Pérez.

He noted the $115 million Kiewit Hall is entirely funded by donors, with a $25 million naming gift provided by Kiewit Corp.

“Without philanthropy, that building simply wouldn’t be,” he said.

Pérez said Kiewit Hall is critical to the college’s goal of growing undergraduate enrollment from 3,000 to 5,000 students.

“The quality of your facilities plays a really important role in recruitment. Students want to come to a place and a facility that show you’re taking their education seriously,” he said.

By constructing buildings, hiring new faculty, recruiting more students and expanding research, the state’s only engineering college can spur economic development in Nebraska, Pérez said.

Engineers are in huge demand across the state and are essential to its biggest industries. Nebraska’s banking and insurance companies, for example, require software engineers to support their online infrastructure. Modern agriculture needs equipment for automation and data analytics to manage water resources, fertilizer, seed distribution and productivity, he said.

Growing Nebraska’s pipeline of engineers and computing and construction professionals is critical to filling those and other open jobs in the state and region and to creating new jobs, Pérez said.

“Engineering plays a role in more and more sectors of both the Nebraska economy and the U.S. and global economy,” Pérez said. “We have to produce the engineers who can fill those roles.”

Pérez has high praise for the college’s “amazing, world-class faculty,” who he says are doing research to address the fundamental problems facing the United States and the world.

“From climate change, to disease, to better construction methods, to new approaches on computing, we have faculty doing work in all those areas,” said Pérez, who holds the Omar H. Heins Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The College of Engineering, which also offers programs on the Scott Campus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, added 13 new faculty members for the 2022-23 academic year, increasing total faculty hires to 67 over the past six years.

“A lot of economic growth occurs from the intellectual property and startup companies that come from having a really vibrant research enterprise,” Pérez said.

Philanthropic support is critical to retaining those faculty, he said, while keeping a Big Ten engineering education within reach for all students through scholarships and other funding.

A $2 million gift from alumna Kit Schmoker and her late husband, university alumnus Dick Schmoker, will fund the Schmoker Presidential Chair in Systems Engineering — a high demand field in Nebraska and nationally. Pérez also noted the impact of gifts for named endowed professorships. In fall 2022, 10 faculty members were honored with named professorships, including those supported by the family of Ray Fauss, Wilmer J. and Sally L. Hergenrader, Richard L. McNeel, and Robert F. and Myrna L. Krohn.

This article includes material provided by the College of Engineering.

$20 million gift creates scholarships for UNMC pharmacy students

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The Only in Nebraska campaign is about investing in University of Nebraska students.

It’s also about the giving spirit of people like Joe and Millie Williams.

Alumnus Joe Williams, who died in 2021, left a $20 million estate gift to the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy. Because of this extraordinary gift, pharmacy students will begin receiving Williams Scholarships next fall, in amounts ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

The Williams Scholarships will allow students to lessen their debt and will allow UNMC to compete for some of the nation’s top students. “We want to give at least some dollars to just about every student that applies,” said Keith Olsen, Pharm.D., Joseph D. Williams Endowed Dean of the College of Pharmacy.

Joseph “Joe” D. Williams worked in his grandfather’s Pawnee City, Nebraska, pharmacy as a kid. He served in the Navy during World War II and graduated from the College of Pharmacy in 1950. As chair and CEO of Warner-Lambert, he helped to drive and deliver new drug therapies and products from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Williams was one of the UNMC College of Pharmacy’s greatest success stories, and, with his wife, Millie, one of its most steadfast supporters.

His estate gift allows the College of Pharmacy to endow its deanship; to endow a student scholarship fund and funds for faculty support which include available matching dollars to spur even more giving from the college’s supporters; to further develop the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery; and to provide unrestricted dollars for the college to use to bring to life its strategic initiatives.

“It allows the college to truly change its trajectory,” Olsen said when the gift was announced in December.

UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., called Williams’ life “a great American story and a true ‘Only in Nebraska’ story,” a reference to the University of Nebraska Foundation’s historic campaign, Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future. The campaign’s goal is to raise $3 billion from 150,000 unique benefactors to support the University of Nebraska.

“We are eternally grateful to Joe and Millie for their friendship and their incredible support over the years. For all his success, Joe never forgot where it all began,” Gold said. “I am excited to see what further great American stories our College of Pharmacy will be able to write in the years to come, thanks to the enduring investment in the future made by Joe and his family.”

UNO Fund Scholarship Stories – Matthew Beckmann

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As a full-time social worker, Matthew Beckmann works every day to assist those who most need support. In the course of working on behalf of these individuals, he also navigates a social safety-net system that is incredibly complex and has what he sees as significant flaws.

Matthew wants to change that and currently is taking the first steps to do so by pursuing his bachelor’s degree through the University of Nebraska at Omaha, with emphases in social work, business administration, and psychology.

“I feel like, as a social worker at this level, I can’t make changes.” he said, “So in a perfect world, I’ll keep on going through — I’m planning on getting my master’s degree — so hopefully I can actually make some of the changes I would like to see.”

Matthew’s ambitions are matched by his determination. Both he and his wife, a registered nurse, work full-time in North Platte, Nebraska. The couple have two sons, one 4 years old and one 5 months. To support his family as well as make a difference in his field, Matthew wanted to continue his education. But unfortunately, he found few options close to home that would let him pursue his chosen field.

Initially, Matthew looked at a nearby community college but found the experience discouraging. He decided to explore distance education options. After researching the offerings at most of the major universities in Nebraska, he decided to enroll in UNO’s online multidisciplinary studies program in the fall of 2021.

“I talked with the advisers at UNO quite a bit before I made my decision, and they definitely were amazing through the entire process and kind of told me what I could expect,” Matthew said. “Honestly, this last year and a half that I’ve completed the program with UNO, they’ve been there basically every step of the way. It has been great.”

Shortly after enrolling and starting classes at UNO, Matthew learned he would be one of the recipients of the UNO Fund scholarship, which provides financial assistance thanks to the generosity of alumni and others who donated to the UNO Fund.

While UNO has many scholarships, the UNO Fund for Student Scholarships are the only ones that see hundreds of alumni and supporters come together and make gifts — last year gifts ranged from $5 to $15,000 — to give directly back to students. Thanks to UNO Fund donors, UNO was able to offer Matthew a renewable scholarship to cover much of his tuition through his expected graduation in May 2023.

“When I received the message that I was going to get a scholarship, it definitely made my wife and me very happy,” Matthew said. “With two kids, we’re both working full-time jobs. But it’s definitely been difficult to work extra or really do anything extra because we’re so tight to the wall with our budgets right now. Getting the extra money just to be able to take a breath and actually pay off some different things because of the scholarship has definitely made a massive difference in our quality of life. I’m able to focus more on school because I’m not trying to work 40 hours a week plus more overtime so I can cover the different expenses.”

Matthew has been able to continue working and taking distance classes and is now on track to graduate with his bachelor’s degree from UNO. After that, he hopes to pursue his master’s degree in social work, which is also offered by UNO as an online program.

Matthew said the UNO Fund scholarship helped propel him toward the finish line, and he wished to express his gratitude to every donor to the fund, no matter the size of their gift.

“My wife and I are both so incredibly thankful for this opportunity,” Matthew said. “The donors that are contributing are providing an avenue for people that are not financially able to go through UNO, and I feel like the benefits that you provide are just so incredible. To be able to give that opportunity to prospective students is just an absolute gift. We couldn’t imagine trying to do it without the scholarship. We are so incredibly, incredibly grateful.”

You can help bring more students like Matthew to UNO. The more people who give, the more scholarships we can award to students who need and deserve them.

UNO Fund Student Scholarship Stories – Reagan Folda

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As a student in the Sign Language Interpreting program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Reagan Folda understands the importance of a clear and simple message. She wants UNO alumni to clearly understand this: Their gifts to the UNO Fund scholarship have changed her life.

“I am extremely grateful that I got this scholarship,” she said. “It brought me a lot of relief when I needed it during stressful times.”

Reagan is one of eight promising students who this fall was awarded a UNO Fund scholarship, receiving financial assistance thanks to the generosity of alumni and others who have contributed to the UNO Fund.

While UNO offers many scholarships, the UNO Fund for Student Scholarships is the only one that sees hundreds of alumni and supporters come together and make gifts — last year gifts ranged from $5 to $15,000 — to give directly back to students. Thanks to UNO Fund donors, UNO was able to offer Reagan a renewable scholarship to cover much of her tuition through her expected graduation in December 2024.

Reagan grew up in Schuyler, Nebraska, and after graduating from high school in 2019 she attended Central Community College as a student-athlete, playing soccer. However, after a year there, she felt drawn to a bigger city environment and started looking at transfer options. She transferred to Metropolitan Community College (MCC), where she majored in liberal arts.

While at MCC, Reagan took an ASL class and fell in love with the language. After a year at MCC, Reagan earned her associate degree. She then transferred to UNO to become a speech pathologist; however, she decided to change her major to become a sign language interpreter.

“I love learning about the Deaf community and American Sign Language,” Reagan said. “I think everyone should learn more about Deaf culture and ASL.”

Reagan has been impressed with the classes, people and campus at UNO, and she said she has found it a good fit for all the experiences she was hoping to receive from her college education.

“The campus is really nice,” Reagan said. “You feel very at home here, and the people are so awesome. I wanted a bigger city to live in, but it’s also just an hour from my hometown.”

Reagan also said she would enjoy working in the educational setting assisting children who are Deaf and hard of hearing. She hopes to pursue a career as an educational interpreter.

“I am considering getting my master’s in Deaf education,” Reagan added. “Right now, I am leaning toward becoming an educational interpreter, but there are many opportunities for me to think about.”

Reagan said she felt immediate relief this fall when she learned she would be receiving the UNO Fund scholarship.

“Transferring from Metro, it’s a price change, so I was nervous about that, but the scholarship really was a relief,” she said. “I was really grateful. I was nervous about taking out too much of a FAFSA loan, so I didn’t have to take out as much because I have the scholarship. And the scholarship is renewable, so that was really nice, too.”

In addition to taking classes at UNO, Reagan works as a nanny to help pay her living expenses and tuition. She said the UNO Fund scholarship has helped to ease some of those financial burdens. It also allowed her to find the right major without having to worry about adding additional semesters and incurring an even greater tuition bill.

“I get to focus more on my schoolwork,” she said. “I have a nanny job where I only work two days a week, which is nice. If I did not have this scholarship, I would probably have to find a second job, so it has been wonderful.”

In addition to expressing her gratitude, Reagan encouraged UNO alumni to consider giving back to this scholarship in an amount that makes sense to them. She said she knows firsthand that the gifts are being used to help students who want to make a positive impact in their communities.

“The people who have the UNO Fund scholarship, and anyone who graduates from UNO, they go out and do great things,” she said, “so I think it is a really good thing to donate to the UNO Fund scholarship. I know when I’m an alumnus, I’ll try to do it too for sure, because it helped me, and I want to give back, too.”

You can help bring more students like Reagan to UNO. The more people who give, the more scholarships we can award to students who need and deserve them.

Lifelong Learning Inspires Educator to Give Back

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Janet Wendland grew up in Arapahoe, Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she majored in German and English. After teaching high school, Janet spent a summer in Germany on a Fulbright scholarship and then continued her education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, receiving a master’s degree in education. She was then recruited by a school supplies company and began a career in international sales in the education market. Janet, a Burnett Society member, established a planned gift to provide study abroad opportunities for UNK students.

What was the first job you ever had?

In high school during the summers, I helped teach swimming lessons at our local pool and also served up ice cream at the Dairy Queen. Both jobs helped teach me to have good humor and patience when serving others, and those skills have helped in all my dealings with others.

After graduation from UNK, my first job was teaching German and English in a high school, and I know I learned more about teaching than I taught in those years. I was very thankful to have the principal and fellow teachers to mentor me and help me hone my skills.

Janet Wendland Selfie
What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

I have received great advice from my parents, especially about being true to your own authentic self and values and being respectful of others, whether or not you agree with them.

I also have a daily calendar that gives a proverb each day from Africa, and I appreciate those snippets that are unique but practical advice. Today’s proverb from Kenya is: “One does not regret having helped another.” Yesterday’s was: “Do not separate your mind from your tongue.”

Who has influenced your life for good?

My family, friends, teachers, ministers to name a few, and often strangers who show me a behavior that I should emulate. I like the philosophy of Leo Buscaglia, who said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Why do you plan to leave a gift to the foundation?

Having been raised in the small town of Arapahoe, Nebraska, by loving parents and a community that valued education, it is easy to understand why I decided to make a promise of funds to help others coming after me. I am very grateful for the wealth of opportunities my education has afforded me and know this gift will help others achieve their dreams. My travels around the world also taught me how interconnected and interdependent we all are and helped me understand and appreciate my place in the world. My gratitude and experiences help explain why I have committed to helping others. Plus, the proverb says: “One does not regret having helped another!” This gift from me is also to me.

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