Community Backs Students’ Educational Journey

SPRING VALLEY— Students in rural Minnesota school districts may not have the most modern buildings or extravagant resources, but they have something even more important – the backing of the community.

Kingsland High School seniors were reminded recently that community support is shown in more ways than just pats on the back and verbal congratulations when they received nearly $100,000 from local entities to further their post-secondary pursuits. 

During an academic awards ceremony just a few days before their 2025 commencement, many soon-to-be graduates learned that local veterans organizations, service clubs, agricultural groups, businesses and even families chose to bolster their academic journey after they leave Kingsland.

When all the awards were accounted for, 17 seniors received 73 scholarships totaling $98,500 from 24 different local entities. Although many students will also receive scholarships from colleges or get money from state and national resources, those awards were not part of the ceremony or included in the total amount awarded.

The generous support did more for the students than just reduce financial barriers by directly funding post-secondary goals to help cover the costs of tuition, books, fees, and transportation, noted Kingsland High School Principal Dana Simmons.

“Beyond financial support, these scholarships represent an investment from local businesses and organizations, reinforcing a strong sense of community and showing students that their future is valued,” she explained.

Kingsland students sit in front of the stage before the academic awards ceremony a few days before they graduate. They do not know if they will receive scholarships until representatives of each group announces the students they selected. (Photo by Dana Simmons)

The students who received scholarships aren’t necessarily attending four-year institutions as some are headed for trade schools or community colleges. They also aren’t just the students who have the highest academic ranking as the awarding organizations look at various characteristics.

“They (local scholarships) serve to recognize local talent, often honoring not just academic achievement but also leadership, service, and perseverance — qualities that might be overlooked by larger, national awards,” said Simmons. 

“In addition, the visible support and celebration of graduating seniors can inspire younger students to work hard and pursue their own goals, knowing that their community is ready to support them.”

Community trust invests in local students

The most generous entity to support the students is the Osterud-Winter Trust, which was set up in 1993 with initial distributions in 1994. In the 31 years since it was established, the trust has awarded about $983,000 toward annual scholarships for graduating seniors. The trust awarded $28,500 in scholarships to 2025 Kingsland graduates.

John Osterud, born in Norway in 1899, emigrated to the United States in 1901 with his family. His father died in 1903, and his mother moved the family to Spring Valley about the time John became a teen. 

Johnson’s mother bought a tiny house in Spring Valley and worked for 10 cents an hour as a cleaning lady, according to Osterud’s autobiographical information included in his 1993 funeral program.

Osterud found odd jobs as a teen and after graduating from high school worked in a bank, then started a financing company, an insurance company and an agricultural loan company in Spring Valley before founding Home Federal Savings & Loan Association, which is now Alerus. The bank started in 1933 with capital of $2,620 and had assets of more than $400 million with offices in six cities at the time of his death in 1993.

He and his daughter, Karen Winter, who died earlier in 1993, left $1 million for a community trust with annual distributions to be made only from interest earned each year. Half of the distributions go to scholarships, with the other half going to various community needs of Spring Valley, some of them fixed and some one-time projects chosen each year by a board of local residents. 

Sue Kolling, who worked with Osterud at Home Federal and is a former board member of the trust, said she never heard Osterud mention his thoughts on the importance of education, but it is easy to tell learning was important to him because the first requirement of his trust is that 50 percent go to scholarships each year.

The Spring Valley Kiwanis Club has been awarding scholarships for more than 35 years. Students awarded 2025 scholarships are, from left, Gavin Hubka, Marek Boysen, Seth Howard, Claire Mettler, Caden Reiter, Vaira Merkel and Alexis Klomps. Chantle Reiland received two scholarships and Zach Reiland received another one, but they were at a key track meet that didn’t finish in time for the ceremony. (Photo by Dana Simmons)

Osterud learned the importance of education in an unusual way, noted Kolling. One summer during his high school years, he found a job in Rochester in the dining room of the Colonial Hotel-Hospital that paid so well he ignored his mother’s pleas to return home to attend school in the fall.

“His mom took the train to Rochester, grabbed his butt, and dragged him back home to finish high school,” said Kolling.

That must have made an impression on him since after finishing high school in Spring Valley, he continued his learning with correspondence and home study courses in administration and insurance, later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and eventually completed a law degree.

Family, organization scholarships acknowledge community values and service

Although that $1 million trust is the biggest contributor, another 23 entities, ranging from the American Legion of Spring Valley to the Wykoff Lions Club, awarded $70,000 in scholarships to local graduates in 2025. 

One group that has been a long-time supporter of local students is the Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley, a local service club, which made a significant impact in 2025 with ten scholarships valued at $6,500 from various funding sources. Local club scholarships are funded by an annual rose sale and Citizen of the Year donations, while the district Kiwanis organization awarded two scholarships, and the Red Cross provided funds for one scholarship in recognition of the Key Club, a high school service club supported by Kiwanis, for organizing a blood drive at the school.

Kiwanis has been providing scholarships to local students since the 1980s, even before the Spring Valley and Wykoff districts combined to form Kingsland in 1992. The club also supports education by recognizing Students of the Month during each school year, a practice that started in the 1970s, and annually provides books to preschool programs and the library.

“We try to support our community, following our mission, which states that ‘Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time’,” said Co-President Rita Bezdicek, a retired teacher.

One type of scholarship that has been growing in recent years is from families with local ties. Six families provided scholarships for 2025 Kingsland graduates. 

One of the first family scholarships set up for Kingsland students is the Charlie and Irene Reps Scholarship, established in 2010 in honor of the couple, former teachers with 70 years of experience between them in the Spring Valley and Kingsland districts. 

The Reps’ son, Mark, who graduated from Spring Valley High School, said the scholarship started out as a Christmas present from him, his brother and sisters. It turned into an annual tradition, and after the parents died, the children added money, enabling the scholarship to continue.

One of the several scholarships Kaylin Mensink, right, received in 2024 was the Howard and Lois Brekke Scholarship. Presenting the scholarship to her was Stephanie Derby, a former Kingsland teacher. (Photo by David Phillips)

The application process for this scholarship is different than most others as an academic transcript isn’t even included, since Reps said grades are irrelevant to their selection process. The only application requirement is for students to submit a narrative on how growing up in a small town shaped their life and which local person had the most influence on them.“We are looking for students who are going to be good citizens or who have been good citizens in a small town and are likely to go back there or some other small town or at least carry on the same attitude,” he said.

The newest family scholarship is the Jeff Kolling Family Scholarship, which began this year. Sue Kolling said she decided to start it because her late husband, Jeff, and their children attended school in the district, and now grandchildren are doing the same. She said the scholarship is a way to “pay it forward.”

In addition to the previously mentioned entities, others awarding scholarships in 2025 include: American Legion Auxiliary, Bloomfield Mutual Insurance, Howard and Lois Brekke, Fillmore County Corn Growers, First State Bank of Minnesota, Richard and Marjorie Hamlin Memorial, Kingsland Athletic Booster Club, Knights of Columbus, Kelvin Niemeyer Memorial, Mower County Farm Bureau Association, Ostrander Lions, Nado J. Bernard III, Spring Valley Public Utilities, Thauwald Family, VFW of Spring Valley and VFW Auxiliary.

Students feel blessed by community

Students who receive the scholarships are grateful for the financial benefits they are receiving as well as the concrete show of community support that allows them to expand their education beyond the community.

Last year, 2024 Kingsland graduate Kaylin Mensink received roughly $12,500 from various organizations and people within the community, which she used to help pay her tuition at Bethel University, a private Christian college located in St. Paul, where she is majoring in elementary education and receiving an endorsement in 5-8 English.

“Receiving this scholarship money meant so much to me, and I am beyond grateful for each dollar I received. It allowed me to pay my tuition with ease and not have to fret about the thousands of dollars I would otherwise have in debt due to student loans,” she said. 

“The various scholarships I received leave me feeling extremely grateful and show how blessed I am to live in a community so passionate about the Kingsland alumni’s college education,” Mensink remarked. “I truly cannot thank the people and companies within our community enough for providing me and other students with scholarships. Their support and efforts are making a much larger impact than they know.”

Gavin Hubka with his diploma outside Kingsland High School following commencement. He said he will likely enter college in the fall without having to take out student loans. (Photo by Sally Hubka)

Gavin Hubka, a 2025 graduate who plans to attend the University of Wisconsin – River Falls to major in agricultural engineering, said he filled out as many local scholarship applications as he could, coming away with eight awards.

Due to the scholarships he received, Hubka doubts he will have to take out any student loans during his first year of college, which he said is reassuring. 

“It also helps to have such a great community that cares about the students, which I’m thankful for,” he said.

Looking back at his high school journey, he said he’s glad that he kept his grades up and got involved, “because the work I put in during class now paid off big time with all of the scholarships I received.” 

The class valedictorian, Hubka also noted that he realizes that the reward didn’t just come from the work he did inside the classroom as many of the awards were based on his numerous activities within the school and community.

“One piece of advice to younger students would be to get involved and volunteer,” he said. 

Application process easy

Although some of the organizations providing local scholarships to Kingsland students have their own application process, the majority of them use the same application. This makes it relatively easy for the students to apply since the universal form means the students only have to fill out an application once for the majority of local scholarships. 

The forms request academic information as well as the students’ involvement at the school and in the community. There is also a written essay component that often makes an impact on the decisions made by the awarding organizations.

The culmination is an awards ceremony in which representatives from the scholarship entities are called up to a stage to announce the winners to the students who are not informed beforehand. With 73 scholarships awarded, the ceremony in the school gym creates a lot of excitement for the school, making for an impressive event, noted Simmons, who has worked in other districts, including ones in other states.

“To my knowledge, this is a tremendous amount to be awarded, particularly in a smaller school district such as Kingsland,” she said. 

“It is truly a testament to the support that our community has for our students.”