The Impact on
Students
Accomplishments amid promise
 Sarah
Pollema always knew that if she wanted
to go to college, she needed to figure
out how to pay for it. The sixth of eight
children from a struggling Minnesota
farming family, she pretty much made her own way
in life. College, she figured, wasn’t
going to be any different.
A promising student and star athlete, Pollema
found an advocate in her high school track
coach, who encouraged her to stick with
her studies. When college and scholarship
application time rolled around, Pollema’s
coach walked her through the process.
Pollema chose the University of Minnesota,
Duluth for its size and to be near Lake
Superior. It was, she felt, a natural
fit with her biology major. Now a senior,
she’s earned the respect of professors
like Allen Mensinger, who, in a nomination
letter, wrote, “I have no doubt
that Ms. Pollema will be one of our nation’s
leading scientists by the end of the decade.”
Pollema’s academic accomplishments
include a coveted National Science Foundation
fellowship, a summer research opportunity
at a top marine biology lab, and the chance
to present a research paper at a national
conference.
“I don’t know if I could afford
to be in college if it weren’t for
the scholarship money,” says Pollema,
who clearly thrives in a university environment.
Since she has made it this far, she feels
confident that nothing will stop her from
pursuing a graduate degree in molecular
or cellular biology.
Learn how
gifts like yours impact faculty, research
and outreach at the U.
Faculty:
Endowed faculty positions increase
the U's ability to attact top students
and recruit and retain world-class
faculty.
Research:
For the first time, University of
Minnesota researchers have secured
over half a billion dollars in research
funding in a single year.
Outreach: University Libraries lends more books to other libraries than
any other academic library in the nation. That mission has been assisted through
the generosity of private support. |
