Dr. Frank L. Van Alstine Scholarship for International Students

In December 2021, the Dr. Frank L. Van Alstine Scholarship for International Students was established with the Winona State University Foundation. The scholarship will benefit and encourage international students at Winona State University.

Criteria
• Undergraduate or graduate international student enrolled full-time and in good standing at Winona State University
• Preference for students from Taiwan or Mainland China

Background and Motivation
Shyling Lee writes:Dr. Frank L. Van Alstine was the Dean of Graduate Studies from 1953 to 1970 at Winona State. In 1968, I was admitted to the Department of Mathematics from Taiwan, Republic of China. In the process of applying for admission, Dr. Van arranged for me to stay with a local family for room and board. This arrangement not only helped relieve my financial burden but also sped up my acclimation to the new living and learning environment in the USA.

While at WSU and through the years I was away, he and his wife Mrs. Gladys Van Alstine treated me affectionately as a member of their family. I was often a guest of his family over holidays. They often invited me to “come home.” How lucky I was as a foreign student to have a home to come back to! I learned that I was not the only one who had received their tremendous kindness and care. They shared with me their many happy memories of caring for the foreign students. I know they made a great difference in each of the lives they touched. And I am sure each of the students is as grateful as I am.

Decades have passed since I was a student in Winona, but the sweet memory of being part of a caring family and a beautiful city will never fade. It is only appropriate to create this scholarship in the hope of enabling more future students to get to enjoy and appreciate what I experienced at WSU. This is also a small way for me to say belatedly, “Thank you, Dr. and Mrs. Van Alstine for all that you have done for me and other foreign students.”