Gil Kraft Football Teacher Education Scholarship

The Gil Kraft Football Teacher Education Scholarship was created to encourage and support student athletes who participate in the WSU Football Program and are majoring in Education, helping to defray tuition costs and to enhance the Football Program that is a part of the quality athletic tradition at WSU.

Criteria

1. Each recipient must an undergraduate student enrolled full-time (minimum of 12 credits per semester, Fall and Spring) at Winona State University.
2. Each recipient must be a member of the Winona State University Football team
3. Each recipient must be in good standing at WSU
4. Each recipient must be classified as a Sophomore, Junior or Senior when they are originally selected and be in good standing at Winona State University with a minimum grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.75 (4.0 = A)
5. Each recipient must be a declared major in Winona State University’s Elementary Education or Secondary Education Program.
6. Each recipient must have been admitted to the Teacher Education Program.
7. Each recipient must demonstrate need through the Financial Aid Office.
8. Each recipient must write an essay describing their current and future goals along with a short biography.

Biography/Motivation

Gil Kraft graduated from Winona State Teachers College in 1939 with a major in Industrial Arts and minors in Social Studies and Physical Education. While he was at Winona State, he was a three-year letter winner in football as a running back.

Born in Elkton, MN, after graduating, Gil taught and coached in Kiester, MN. In 1942 he entered the military and served on the USS Pueblo in the Pacific Theater during WWII. He was discharged in the fall of 1945 and finished the year teaching in Elkton, MN. He received an M.A. Degree from Colorado State University in Industrial Technology and received an M.A. Degree from St. Cloud State University in Guidance Counseling. From 1963 until his retirement in 1979, he served as a senior high school guidance counselor in the Kasson-Mantorville High School. In addition to his teaching career, Gil also spent time as co-owner of a cabinet shop in Benson, MN, served as the District Manager for southeastern Minnesota for Farmers Insurance Group and also as a representative for J.E. Stowers and Company, an investment firm.

Gil married Elnora Moe in 1941. She was an elementary music teacher in the Kasson, MN, and Kiester, MN, school districts. Elnora passed away in 1996. Gil currently lives at the Charter House on the Mayo Clinic Campus in Rochester, MN.

Gil has established the Gil Kraft Scholarship through the WSU Foundation for secondary education students. During his retirement he continues to pursue his interest in athletic events and outdoor activities. Gil is also a member of various area educational associations and now resides at Charter House, Rochester, MN.