Sept. 26, 2022

University celebrates students, donors during annual ‘Powering Dreams’ event

Northwest Missouri State University students came face-to-face Saturday with the alumni and friends who support them through their contributions to University scholarships during the annual “Powering Dreams” celebration of donors and scholars at the Agricultural Learning Center.

The celebration provides an opportunity for students to not only thank donors for their investment but exchange stories about their experiences at Northwest and career plans.

Among those students attending Saturday’s event was Darren Ross, a junior computer science major from St. Louis who received the Claudean V. Daniel Trailblazer Scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year. In expressing his gratitude for the scholarship, Ross reflected on the personal adversity he overcame to pursue a college degree. Through the Karen L. Daniel Legacy Fund, the scholarship has revealed opportunities he didn’t think were possible.

“Growing up where college was the last thing I heard from my family was very odd to me,” he said. “I learned quickly that there was a chance for me to break the cycle if I concentrated on my studies and avoided negative influence. Staying true to what I always wanted to accomplish was my goal, and that’s how the scholarship aids me. It allows me to be free from financial burden that many students undergo in achieving their education.”

Similarly, Lauren Cullin, a first-year biomedical sciences major from Maryville, is realizing her dreams of advancing her knowledge of animal science and becoming a veterinarian. As a recipient of the Maryville Host Lions Club Scholarship and the Northwest Staff Council Scholarship, Cullin can more easily concentrate on her studies – in addition to competing with the Bearcat soccer team. Coursework, practices and games limit her time for other activities.

“Scholarships allow me to excel at the University and my occupation,” Cullin said. “They lighten the stress of tuition expenses, facilitating my personal success and that of other students like me. Scholarships don't make college any easier, necessarily. It’s not like they’re taking my exams for me, but they do allow me to focus on my grades for school instead of finding a way to pay for school.”

The donors attending Saturday’s event included Janet Kelley Epperson, a 1975 graduate of Northwest. Because of the transformational support her parents received in pursuit of their college degrees and her family’s deep roots with the University, Epperson now is a loyal donor to Northwest.

Epperson’s parents, Bobby and Shirley Kelley, were children during the Great Depression and became the first in their families to advance their educations beyond high school. As a veteran of World War II, Bobby received financial assistance to enroll at Northwest through the GI Bill and graduated in 1953. Shirley received financial assistance related to her father’s service in World War I and graduated in 1952.

“Attending Northwest changed the courses of their lives and those of the next four generations of people related to them,” Epperson said. “Because of the financial assistance they received, they found new paths for their lives, which set the stage for new opportunities for my two brothers, Roger and Keith Kelley, and for me.”

As a result of the degrees they earned at Northwest, Bobby and Shirley Kelley maintained careers in education in northwest Missouri schools for more than 30 years. As a school superintendent, Bobby hired many Northwest graduates to teach in the schools he led. As an elementary teacher, Shirley mentored student teachers from Northwest in her classrooms.

Today, Epperson said, relatives of the Kelley family total 22 Northwest alumni or current students. The Bobby and Shirley Kelley Excellence in Education Scholarship established in the couple’s honor is a tribute to their dedication to teaching and lends support to Northwest students who choose to enter the teaching profession.

“We wholeheartedly want to be a part of powering dreams at Northwest because those dreams can change another person’s world for the better, and that person will be equipped to change someone else’s world,” Epperson said. “My family and I look at this not as repaying what was done for us but rather paying forward to realize a dream. My family and I are honored to be a part of the family of donors who continue to contribute to powering dreams at this great university, and we are even more proud of the scholars who benefit from those scholarships.”

Scholarship support remains a central mission of the Northwest Foundation, which awarded nearly $1.3 million in financial assistance through 1,420 scholarships during the last fiscal year. For the fourth consecutive year, the dollar amount represents the highest awarded in the history of the Foundation as well as the highest number of donor-funded scholarships awarded.

For more information about ways to contribute to scholarships or make a gift to support Northwest, contact the Office of University Advancement at 660.562.1248 or advance@nwmissouri.edu.