Gerry Masyga Family Scholarship

In April, 2022, the Gerry Masyga Family Scholarship was established as an endowed fund in the Winona State University Foundation. This scholarship will benefit and encourage students who are majoring in Nursing.

Criteria
• Undergraduate
• Full time = 12 credits per semester
• Declared Nursing Major
• Sophomore, Junior or Senior
• Financial need
• 3.0 GPA

Background and Motivation
I, Mary Masyga, am a native of Winona, MN. Fifteen years and 6 children after high school graduation I began college parttime at Winona State. It was a wonderful experience. The teachers were excellent, but even more, it was evident that they loved the subject they taught. Classes were relatively small, so if you needed help they gave it. My husband and mother-in-law helped me with encouragement and baby-sitting, among other things. I received one $400 scholarship, which was very welcome.

I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1969 and a Master’s degree in Counseling in 1973.
I taught part-time at Winona Area Technical School (now Southeast Tech) for four years before moving to Arizona in 1973. In Arizona I was laid off from my education positions and ended up working in social work, eventually earning a Social Work degree from Arizona State University. The classes there were large, most teachers somewhat removed, and I really appreciated my years at Winona State.

I worked with the elderly, first in Long Term Care-Adult Foster Care, later Adult Protective Services, and eventually Arizona State Long Term Care Ombudsman. I credit my WSU degree in Counseling with my success.

Several of my children and grandchildren also attended WSU. My husband and I agreed that if we could ever afford it, we’d like to fund a scholarship at WSU. We now can.