From North Iowa Area Community College, www.niacc.edu

Foundation News
NIACC Recognizes 2006-07 Scholarship Recipients
Oct 20, 2006

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: Speaking at the NIACC Scholarship Luncheon were (left to right) Paul MacGregor, Barb MacGregor, Zachary Bales-Henry, Megan LaBarge, Kimberly Fleming and Jay East.

A number of thank you’s and details of future plans were exchanged as North Iowa Area Community College honored 2006-07 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,” Jamie T. Zanios, NIACC Foundation director, said.  “Their kindness will significantly impact the lives of students in North Iowa. We are very fortunate to have such great friends of the College.”

The recognition program featured comments from NIACC Foundation donors Paul and Barb MacGregor.

"We take great pleasure in being able to help deserving students in our region continue their education,” Barb said.  “We were fortunate to be able to help our own children with their education, and we enjoy helping support other students, too.”

The Paul and Barb MacGregor Scholarship Fund was established in 2000.  A native of Mason City, Paul works as an urologist at the Mason City Clinic.  He also serves on the Christopherson Medical Scholarship advisory committee, which is another NIACC Foundation scholarship.  Barb works as a community volunteer sharing her talents with Francis Lauer Youth Services, Opportunity Village, Cerro Gordo County Medical Alliance and River City Trees.

Several student scholarship recipients also spoke at NIACC’s scholarship recognition luncheon.

Jay East, a pre-chiropractic major from Garner, was very grateful for his scholarship and the opportunities it provided him.

“Receiving this scholarship has allowed me to focus on the things that matter most to me in life,” East said.  "Scholarships help students fund their education and allow them to spend more time focusing on grades instead of how to pay for school."

East is active in baseball at NIACC and plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa after graduating from NIACC.

Megan LaBarge, a nursing major from Charles City, explained that attending NIACC has enabled her to experience the kindness of scholarship donors and make her college experience complete.

“My scholarship has given me more confidence knowing that others believe in me and have rewarded my hard work and dedication,” LaBarge said.  "Scholarships help make attending college easier by taking away some of the financial burden.  Scholarship donations is something that benefits students, their families and NIACC in such a positive way."

LaBarge plans to work as a nurse in the North Iowa area as well as successfully completing the state board exam for registered nurses.

Kimberly Fleming, an elementary education major from Mason City, noted that the kindness of scholarship donors has allowed her to get an education and experience college life as well.

“I am involved with softball, choir and NIACC Singers.  I was just named Homecoming Queen for 2006, and I know that would not have been possible had it not been for the scholarships allowing me to be so involved in the college activities,” Fleming said.

Fleming plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa and pursue a career as a teacher and coach.

Zachary Bales-Henry, a business major from Des Moines, felt that scholarships allowed him to avoid college debt.

“Receiving my scholarship has allowed me to get involved in the Iowa democratic party, student senate and Iowans for Higher Education, because now I don’t have to have a job to pay for school,” Bales-Henry said.

Bales-Henry plans to transfer to Drake University and follow his dream of going into politics.

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 such as the Muse Norris Foundation and other donors each year, the need remains 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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