W.N. & Jane Enger Scholarship

In July 2017, W.N. & Jane Enger Scholarship was established with the Winona State University Foundation. The scholarship will benefit and encourage students attending Winona State University.

Criteria
1. Each recipient must be an undergraduate student enrolled full-time and in good standing at Winona State University (minimum of 12 credits per semester, Fall and Spring)
2. Each recipient must have a G.P.A of 2.5 or higher.
3. Each applicant will submit a short essay (under 500 words) explaining how they have risen above obstacles in their lives.

Background & Motivation

Scholarship founder, Bill Enger, was raised in Minnesota in a family of teachers, graduated from Augsburg (in Minneapolis) with a bachelor’s, and taught history and coached for two years at Wykoff, MN. (about 60 miles west of Winona), during which time he earned a master’s at Winona State. Afterward, when he could not find a job, Bill took a doctorate at Oklahoma State, married Linda who he met at OSU, taught high school social studies for three years, and then taught history at a junior college in Texas for the following 37 years. Bill retired after teaching for 45 years, and now plays with cows, dogs, and grandkids.

Life, however, has rarely been as smooth and easy as what appears above. Bill was the ugly duckling or the frog awaiting a kiss from the princess. He was very lucky at critical times that people helped him, and this allowed his hard work to be productive. When his parents left him some money, he invested it with the intention of being able to help others, likewise, to reach their goals.